Tackling  Tech. 


Suggestions  for  the   Undergraduate 
in  Technical  School  or  College 


By 


LAWRENCE  WICKES  CONANT 


NEW  YORK 

THE  RONALD  PRESS  COMPANY 

1922 


Copyright,   1922,  by 
Lawrence  Wickes  Conant 


All  Rig  his  Reserved 


-I 


To  the  Memory  of 

DR.  RICHARD  COCKBURN  MACLAURIN 

Whose  self-sacrificing  service  brought 
into  being  "New  Technology  " 


494539 


FOREWORD 

Life  ordinarily  is,  and  should  be,  an  educational 
process  from  first  to  last.  Experience  begins  in 
the  very  earliest  days  of  life,  and  continues 
throughout  all  its  stages.  The  earlier  years  may 
be  termed  the  "formative  period,"  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly important  that  during  this  period  proper 
guidance  and  the  inculcation  of  wise  habits  and 
principles  should  be  the  foremost  consideration.  It 
is  well,  then,  that  the  experience  of  those  who 
have  traversed  the  road  should  be  made  available 
for  those  who  are  just  beginning  the  journey. 
Everyone  who  has  had  the  opportunity  of  college 
training  must  certainly  realize  that  his  course 
would  have  been  more  effective  and  satisfactory 
had  there  been  available  to  him  the  best  and 
wisest  advice  beforehand.  From  this  it  follows 
that  any  method  or  medium  which  can  present  to 
the  undergraduate  student  intelligibly  and  in  an 
interesting  fashion  for  utilization  such  experience 
as  comes  from  men  who  have  been  closely  and 
recently  in  touch  with  the  personal  problems 
which  he  will  have  to  face,  cannot  fail  to  be  of 
great  value  and  assistance. 

The  book  to  which  I  am  pleased  to  contribute 
this  foreword  is  the  outcome  of  careful  analysis 


vi  FOREWORD 

and  discussion,  by  the  author,  of  the  several  sub- 
jects considered  in  its  sixteen  chapters,  and  it 
embodies,  for  the  benefit  of  students  and  their  ad- 
visers, much  valuable  information  in  a  convenient 
form.  It  emphasizes  very  strongly  the  things 
the  undergraduate  will  need  in  his  course  of  train- 
ing as  a  preparation  for  his  later  life,  professional 
or  otherwise,  and  at  the  same  time  brings  strongly 
before  him  the  fact  that  his  college  life  and  work 
are  indeed  a  very  important  part  of  his  whole 
life  itself.  It  encourages  him  to  apply  to  his 
problems  systematic  work  and  gives  him  val- 
uable counsel  as  to  the  relations  of  the  different 
activities,  social  and  otherwise,  in  which  he  may 
share  along  with  his  professional  or  technical 
training. 

What  measure  of  success  the  author  and  those 
who  have  assisted  him  may  achieve  in  the  task 
they  have  set  before  them  will,  it  is  hoped,  prove 
that  the  effort  has  been  worth  while. 

Elihu  Thomson 
Lynn,  Massachusetts, 

September  i,  1922. 


AUTHOR'S   NOTE 

The  suggestions  here  presented,  the  outgrowth 
originally  of  the  author's  personal  experience  as 
an  undergraduate,  have  been  checked  and  broad- 
ened by  the  criticism  of  men  in  responsible  touch 
with  student  life  in  a  number  of  institutions. 
While  a  few  of  the  topics  discussed,  such  as 
"Summer  Work,  Getting  a  Job  and  Making 
Good,"  apply  more  definitely  to  students  in  the 
later  years  of  college  or  technical  school,  most 
of  the  chapters  will  be  found  useful  throughout 
the  undergraduate  course,  and  for  high  school 
students  preparing  to  enter  college  or  a  technical 
school.  This  is  the  case,  for  example,  with  "Pre- 
paring for  a  Technical  Education/'  the  chapter 
on  "Health  and  Energy,"  and  those  on  "Per- 
sonal Finance." 

The  author  is  deeply  sensible  of  the  kindness 
of  the  busy  men  who  have  taken  time  for  per- 
sonal consideration  of  this  discussion  of  under- 
graduate problems.  He  is  under  peculiar  obli- 
gation to  the  officers  and  teachers  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology  for  their  con- 
tinued encouragement  and  assistance,  particularly 
Dr.  Elihu  Thomson,  Acting  President ;  Dr.  Davis 
R.  Dewey,  head  of  the  Department  of  Engineer- 

vii 


viii  AUTHOR'S    NOTE 

ing  Administration;  Professor  H.  G.  Pearson, 
head  of  the  Department  of  English;  and  Pro- 
fessor Erwin  H.  Schell,  head  of  the  Department 
of  Economics,  who  is  responsible,  indeed,  for 
the  first  conception  of  the  book. 

Acknowledgment  should  be  made  also  to  the 
deans  and  other  representatives  of  other  educa- 
tional institutions — especially  to  Colonel  Ed- 
ward K.  Strong,  Jr.,  and  Messrs.  C.  M.  Nichols 
and  C.  C.  Crawford,  of  the  Carnegie  Institute  of 
Technology;  Professor  Richard  Wellington 
Husband,  Associate  Dean  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege; Dean  Raymond  Walters  of  Swarthmore 
College;  and  Dean  L.  P.  Mitchell  of  the  Engi- 
neering College  of  Syracuse  University. 

Lawrence  Wickes  Conant 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
September  i,  1922. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

I     Preparing  for  a  Technical  Education   .       3 
Minimum  Preparation  Required 
Exeeding  the  Requirements 
Advantages  of  Additional  Preparation 
College  Preparation  for  a  Technical  Educa- 
tion 
College  Men  in  Technical  Schools 
What  College  Preparation  Is  Best 
Later  Advantages  of  College  Preparation 
Experience  and  Maturity  Through  Work 

II    How  to  Plan  Your  Time  and  Do  Your 

Work 15 

Meeting  New  Conditions 

Developing  a  Plan 

Co-operation  with  Instructors 

Necessary  Information  and  Materials 

Taking  Time  to  Plan 

Building  a  Schedule 

Analyzing  Your  Work  and  Time 

Making  the  Most  of  Your  Time 

Arranging  the  Hours  of  Preparation 

Incentives 

Necessary  Changes  in  the  Schedule 

Making  Your  Plan  Work 

Other  Methods 

A  Means  to  an  End 

III     How  to  Concentrate 31 

Beginning  Right 

Physical  Preparation  for  Study 

Mental  Preparation 

Working  at  Maximum  Efficiency 

Interruptions 

How  to  Study  a  Subject 

Tested  Methods  for  Memorizing 

Putting  Methods  into  Practice 

Developing  the  Critical  Attitude 

The  Seven  Devils  of  Obstruction 

ix 


x  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

IV    How  to  Take  Notes  and  Use  Them  .     .     41 
The  Personal  Equation  in  Note-Taking 
Systems  of  Note-Taking 
Selecting  a  Permanent  Equipment 
Making  Note-Taking  Worth  While 
Notes  of  Permanent  Value 
The  Use  of  Shorthand  in  Note-Taking 
Systematic  Filing  of  Notes 
Usual  Methods  of  Filing  Notes 
A  Practical  Method  Which  Gives  Good  Results 
Adaptations  to  Special  Methods 
Storing  of  Notes 

V    Special  Tools  and  Equipment      ...     52 
Obtaining  Necessary  Equipment 
Investing  in  a  Typewriter 
Learning  to  Use  a  Typewriter 
The   Touch    Method 
Mastering  the  Method 
Foresight  in  Learning  Typewriting 
Selecting  a  Typewriter 
Using  the  Slide  Rule 
A  Sample  Calculation  on  the  Slide  Rule 
Selecting  a  Slide  Rule 
A  Pocket   Memorandum 
A  Practical  Card  File 
Miscellaneous  Equipment 

VI  How  to  Pass  Exams 66 

Common  Sense  Methods 

Proper  Use  of  Textbooks 

Proper  Use  of  Notes 

Making  up  Back  Work 

Preparation  by  Tutoring 

Reviewing  in  Discussion  Groups 

Planning  an  Exam.  Week 

A  Method  Which  Works 

Exercise  and  Recreation 

Making  Ends   Meet 

Deciding  When  to  Study  for  Each  Exam. 

Various  Methods 

Summary 

VII  Health  and  Energy 7& 

Maintaining  Sound  Health 


CONTENTS  xi 

Chapter  Page 

Getting  Sufficient  Sleep 
The  Gospel  of  Relaxation 
Importance  of  Physical  Exercise 
Effects  of  Lack  of  Exercise 
Finding  Time  for  Exercise 
What  Exercise  to  Take — Walking 
Home  Exercises 
Bathing  and  Keeping  Clean 
Getting  a  Thorough  Work-Out 
Common  Sense  in  Eating 
Prevention  of  Colds 

VIII    General     Studies — Reading     and     Self- 
Expression      91 

The  Importance  of  Non-Technical  Courses 
Getting  the  Most  from  General  Studies 
Selecting  Optional   Courses  Wisely 
Self-Expression   for  the  Engineer 
Means  of  Improvement 
Establishing  a  Goal  of  Self-Expression 
The  Student  Engineer  and  Good  Literature 
Finding  Time  to  Read 
What  to  Read 
Specific  Suggestions 

IX    Activities 105 

The  Appeal  of  Activities  in  College 

Activities  for  the  Freshmen  and  the  Seniors 

Studying   Activities   to   Advantage 

Activities  Analyzed 

Benefits  Derived  from  Training 

The  Activities  Laboratory 

Special   Advantages   from   Certain  Activities 

An  Example 

Resume 

X    Playing  the  Activities  Game      .     .      .114 

Getting  a  Good  Start 
Having  an  End  in  View 
Tackling  Detail  Duties 
Studying  the  Other  Fellow 
Getting  the  Habit  of  Success 


xii  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

XI    How  Much  Time  to  Devote  to  Activities    i  19 

Giving  Activities  Their  Proper  Place 
Going  Out  the  First  Year 
Waiting  Until  the  Second  Year 
The  Danger  of  Overloading 
Temptations  Met 
Avoiding  an  Overload 

XII    A  Technical  Education   as  a   Business 

Investment 126 

Difficulties  and  Advantages  of  the  Com- 
parison 

Technical  Education  versus  Four  Years' 
"Experience" 

Necessary  Assumptions 

Tables  of  Comparison 

Computing  the  Difference  in  Cost 

Calculating  the  Money  Value  of  a  Technical 
Education 

What  it  Costs  to  Loaf 

What  it  Costs  to  Cut  Classes 

Does  the  Investment  Pay? 

XIII  Financing  an   Education 136 

Making  the  Two  Ends  Meet 

Importance  of  Good  Marks — Scholarships 

The  Additional  Cost  of  Making  Up  Failures 

Borrowing  Money   for  an  Education 

Ways  of  Borrowing  While  in  College 

Reducing  the  Risk 

Borrowing  Too  Little 

An  Unwise  Policy 

Borrowing   Too  Much 

Directions  for  Computing  Payment  of  Loan 

Earning  Money  in  College 

Summary — A  One- Year  Program 

XIV  Personal    Finances    and     Expense   Ac- 

counts   149 

Why  Keep  an  Expense  Account? 

Budgeting  Your  Expenses 

Satisfaction  from  Businesslike  Methods 


CONTENTS  xiii 

Chapter  Page 

Practical  Value  of  Knowing  How  to  Keep 

Accounts 
Employer's  Point  of  View 
Learning  to  Save  in  College 
Choosing   an    Accounting     Method  to  Meet 

Your  Needs 
The    Simplest    Cash   Account — The    Record 

Journal 
Analyzing  Your  Expenditures 
The  Columnar  Expense  Account 
Standardizing  Expenditure  and    Income 
A  Financial  Control  Sheet 
Developing  a   Financial  Control   Sheet 
Description  of  a  Sample  Control  Sheet 
Advantages  and  Disadvantages 
Double-Entry  Accounting 
Simple  Double-Entry  Accounts 
Outline  of  a  Practical  Double-Entry  System 

XV    Summer  Work,  Getting  a  Job  and  Making 

Good 174 

A  Definite  Aim 

Summer  Work  and  Choosing  a  Profession 

Specific  Gains  Through  Summer  Experience 

Obtaining  Proper  Experience 

Suggestions  for  Summer  Work 

Suggested  Programs 

Getting  the  Job 

Planning  Your  Campaign 

Letters  of  Application 

Persistence 

XVI     The  Other  Things  in  Life       ....   188 
Girls  and  Their  Proper  Sphere 
Overdoing  the  Matter 
The  Happy  Medium 
Week-Ends 
The  Problem 
Suggestions 

Six  Purposes  of  a  Week-End 
Friends 

Tests  of  Friendship 
Obstacles 

Giving  Yourself  a  Chance 
Attaining  an  Ideal 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Figure  Page 

i.  Schedule  Card  (face  and  reverse) 18, 22 

2.  (a)  Lecture  Notes  in  Outline  Form 46 

(b)  Lecture  Notes  in  Abstract  or  Predicate  Form... 47 

3.  Program  of  Work  for  Examination  Week 71 

4.  (a)  Time  Available  Sheet  for  One  Day  in  Examina- 

tion   Week 72 

(b)  Time  Available  Sheet  Completely  Filled  in 75 

5.  Table  Showing  Time  Taken  to  Repay  Loan 144 

6.  Simple  Journal  Cash  Record 155 

7.  Financial    Control    Sheet 164 

8.  An    Allotment   Account 169 

9.  A  Control  Sheet  Account 170 

10.  An  Investment  Account 171 


xiv 


TACKLING  TECH. 


CHAPTER  I 

PREPARING  FOR  A  TECHNICAL 
EDUCATION 

The  Hills  have  been  steep  for  mans  mounting, 
The  Woods  have  been  dense  for  his  axe, 
The  Stars  have  been  thick  for  his  counting, 
The  Sands  have  been  wide  for  his  tracks, 
The  Sea  has  been  deep  for  his  diving, 
The  Poles  have  been  broad  for  his  sway, 
But  bravely  he's  proved  by  his  striving 
That  where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way. 

—The  Open  Window 

Minimum  Preparation  Required 

The  minimum  amount  of  preparation  required 
for  entrance  into  any  technical  institution  is 
usually  a  high  school  education.  You  must  first 
complete  satisfactorily  this  preliminary  training 
before  you  will  be  allowed  to  enter  the  higher 
institution  without  conditions.  How  careful 
should  you  be  to  fulfil  this  requirement,  and  how 
far  is  it  wise  for  you  to  go  in  exceeding  it? 

If  you  enter  a  technical  school  burdened  with 
one  or  more  conditions  you  give  yourself  a  poor 
start.  Where  there  is  absolutely  no  alternative, 
this  handicap  must,  of  course,  be  borne.  If  this 
is  the  case,  the  best  policy  is  not  to  worry.    Some 

3 


4  TACKLING   TECH. 


conditions  are  signed  off  automatically  by  pass- 
ing the  subjects  which  follow  them;  the  others 
can  usually  be  taken  care  of  within  two  years  after 
entering  without  carrying  a  serious  overload. 
Thirty  or  forty  hours  of  work  during  a  term  will 
remove  an  ordinary  condition.  Before  you  plan 
to  enter  a  technical  institution  under  such  circum- 
stances, however,  make  sure  that  you  have  ex- 
hausted every  alternative.  The  man  who  enters 
with  any  conditions  is  poorly  prepared. 

Exceeding  the  Requirements 

It  cannot  be  emphasized  too  strongly  that  in 
every  possible  way  you  should  strive  not  only  to 
meet,  but  to  exceed  the  requirements  for  admis- 
sion. This  may  be  done  in  two  ways:  first,  by 
obtaining  a  mark  beyond  question  in  every  sub- 
ject required  for  admission;  and  second,  by  study- 
ing and  passing  a  number  of  additional  subjects 
of  a  general  nature.  Begin  carrying  out  these 
two  policies  from  the  moment  you  decide  upon 
the  college  or  the  technical  school  that  you  are 
to  enter. 

To  cite  an  instance,  I  will  mention  a  fellow 
whom  I  knew  in  high  school  and  who  very  early 
planned  to  get  a  technical  education.  He  was 
able  to  obtain  most  of  the  preparation  required 
during  his  four  high  school  years,  although  it  in- 


PREPARING   FOR   AN    EDUCATION  5 

volved  two  years  of  outside  tutoring  in  French. 
Throughout  this  time  he  made  it  a  rule  to  take 
additional  subjects,  such  as  Ancient  History  and 
Advanced  Elocution.  Later  he  found  that  much 
of  this  training  and  experience  was  valuable.  The 
policy  of  going  the  "uncompelled  mile"  in  the 
matter  of  preparation  is  a  wise  one  to  follow. 

Advantages  of  Additional  Preparation 

Frequently  a  man  who  thinks  himself  ready 
to  begin  his  technical  education  immediately  will 
do  well  to  prepare  himself  still  further.  There 
are  two  ways  of  doing  this :  first,  by  attending  a 
preparatory  school  for  an  additional  year;  and 
second,  by  entering  college.  The  reason  why 
men  usually  hesitate  about  taking  either  of  these 
courses  is  that  they  feel  it  will  mean  too  great  an 
additional  investment  of  time  or  money.  The 
idea  of  an  extra  year  of  study  looks  appalling  to  a 
young  fellow  who  already  feels  "old"  at  eighteen 
or  nineteen. 

If  barely  sufficient  money  is  available  to  put 
a  man  through  a  four  years'  course,  very  few 
parents  would  consider  allowing  him  to  take  a 
preliminary  year  at  a  preparatory  school,  if  that 
would  make  it  necessary  to  borrow  a  thousand 
dollars  for  his  last  year  in  college.  Yet  that  one 
additional  year  might  easily  enable  the  man  to 


6  TACKLING   TECH. 

double  the  benefits  which  he  might  get  from  his 
course  of  training.  There  is  no  point  where  an 
added  investment  has  a  more  telling  effect  than  in 
the  field  of  fullest  preparation.  To  be  "penny 
wise"  here,  either  in  the  matter  of  time  or  money, 
is  indeed  to  be  "pound  foolish"  as  regards  your 
entire  investment  in  an  education. 

Let  me  cite  one  instance  of  the  way  in  which 
this  works  out  in  practice.  I  recall  the  case  of 
a  friend  who  had  carefully  prepared  throughout 
his  high  school  course  to  enter  a  certain  engineer- 
ing school.  By  the  time  he  had  obtained  his 
high  school  diploma  he  had  practically  covered 
the  requirements  for  the  institution  he  wished 
to  enter.  Nevertheless,  he  felt  that  further 
preparation  would  strengthen  his  preliminary 
training.  Accordingly  he  entered  a  preparatory 
school  for  a  year.  Here  he  derived  benefits  which 
were  of  greatest  value.  He  learned  how  to 
study;  he  was  initiated  into  various  student 
activities ;  he  widened  tremendously  his  circle  of 
friends  and  increased  his  ability  to  make  new 
ones.  When  finally  he  entered  the  techni- 
cal school  he  had  a  running  start  on  the  men 
who  came  directly  from  high  school.  Hundreds 
of  others  have  had  similar  experiences.  The  year 
of  additional  preparation  is  usually  worth  all  it 
costs. 


PREPARING   FOR  AN   EDUCATION  7 

College  Preparation  for  a  Technical  Education 

At  present  the  proportion  of  college  transfers 
in  many  technical  institutions  is  increasing.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  from  this  that  our  technical 
schools  are  sooner  or  later  to  become  mere  grad- 
uate institutions.  The  requirements  for  entrance 
have  been  changed  little,  if  any.  In  practically 
every  case  they  can  be  met  satisfactorily  by  the 
graduate  of  a  good  high  school.  There  are,  in 
fact,  several  arguments  in  favor  of  a  man's  not 
waiting  too  long  before  beginning  the  more  rig- 
orous technical  training. 

The  shock  of  coming  direct  from  high  school 
to  the  technical  institution  is  not  likely  to  be  very 
much  more  severe  than  that  of  coming  from  high 
school  to  college.  The  amount  of  work  required 
in  the  scientific  school  eliminates  many  of  the 
dangers  which  beset  the  college  man,  for  the  tech- 
nical student  has  little  time  for  mischief.  At  the 
same  time  the  difficulty  of  the  work  should  not  be 
exaggerated,  and  the  technical  education  should 
hold  no  terrors  for  the  student  of  reasonable  ma- 
turity and  mental  capacity. 

College  Men  in  Technical  Schools 

While  all  this  is  true  and  while  the  necessity 
for  a  breadth  of  training  is  recognized  in  many 
scientific  schools,  the  combination  of  both  a  college 


8  TACKLING   TECH. 

and  a  technical  education  has  in  many  cases  dis- 
tinct advantages.  So  many  are  at  present  fol- 
lowing this  method  of  education  that  it  is  interest- 
ing to  note  into  what  classes  these  men  can  be 
divided. 

The  college  men  attending  technical  institu- 
tions fall  into  four  groups.  First,  there  is  the 
man  whose  mind  was  not  made  up  at  the  time 
he  went  to  college  regarding  what  he  wished  to 
do  in  life,  and  who  took  this  method  to  decide. 
Second,  there  is  the  man  who  wished  to  get  a 
taste  of  college  life,  before  getting  down  to  the 
more  serious  job  of  studying  for  a  profession. 
Third,  there  is  the  individual  to  whom  the  added 
time  and  money  necessary  meant  no  great  sacri- 
fice and  who  wished  to  obtain  as  varied  an  edu- 
cation as  possible.  Finally,  there  is  the  more  ma- 
ture college  graduate,  who  has  definitely  chosen 
his  goal  in  life  and  who  feels  the  need  of  speciali- 
zation in  some  technical  field  as  a  means  to  an 
end. 

What  College  Preparation  Is  Best 

In  case  a  man  has  decided  to  take  two  years 
or  more  in  college  before  entering  a  technical 
school,  there  is  the  question  of  what  sort  of  col- 
lege training  he  had  best  obtain.  It  is  conceded 
quite  generally  that  if  he  is  later  to  specialize,  his 


PREPARING   FOR   AN    EDUCATION  9 

training  in  college  may  well  be  broad.  Emphasis 
should  probably  be  laid  upon  advanced  courses 
in  English,  Literature,  Economics,  and  History. 
He  should,  however,  lay  out  a  definite  plan  of 
action  to  cover  the  entire  five  or  six  years.  In 
this  should  be  included  many  of  the  general  sci- 
entific studies  which  are  required  by  the  techni- 
cal school  before  graduation  and  for  which  credit 
can  later  be  obtained.  Added  to  these  should  be 
a  thorough  preparation  in  Mathematics,  Physics, 
and  Chemistry,  since  these  subjects  can  often  be 
covered  to  better  advantage  in  college  than  else- 
where. Correspondence,  or,  if  possible,  consul- 
tation with  the  officers  of  the  technical  school 
when  the  college  student  first  begins  to  map  out 
his  course  is  of  the  greatest  benefit  in  obtaining 
satisfactory  results. 

For  example,  a  man  who  had  taken  two  years 
in  college,  and  with  whom  I  became  acquainted 
at  Technology,  had  followed  out  this  method  suc- 
cessfully. He  had  studied  German,  French,  and 
Spanish,  as  well  as  the  sciences  of  Biology,  Chem- 
istry, and  Physics.  The  training  received  from 
such  courses  in  college  broadens  one's  outlook. 
It  develops  a  deeper  appreciation  of  the  "other 
things''  to  be  found  in  life  than  can  usually  be 
obtained  in  even  the  most  liberal  of  technical 
courses. 


IO  TACKLING   TECH. 

Later  Advantages  of  College  Preparation 

The  advantages  of  previous  college  training 
which  develop  after  a  man  has  entered  the  tech- 
nical school  may  well  be  pointed  out  more  specifi- 
cally. In  the  first  place,  he  has  a  sufficient  back- 
ground  of  knowledge  and  experience  to  know 
what  he  wants  to  get  at  the  technical  school. 
Next,  he  has  a  clearer  perception  of  the  relative 
importance  of  technical  and  general  studies,  as 
well  as  of  other  activities  open  to  him.  Finally, 
his  more  mature  and  better  developed  mind 
enables  him  to  get  what  he  wants  with  compara- 
tive ease. 

I  recall  a  case  which  brings  out  these  points, 
that  of  a  friend  who  came  to  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology  after  he  had  completed 
an  A.  B.  course  at  Yale.  His  four  years  in  col- 
lege had  enabled  him  to  map  out  a  definite  plan 
of  action,  not  only  for  his  technical  training,  but 
for  life.  When  many  of  his  classmates  were 
struggling  to  maintain  the  pace  set  by  the  in- 
structors, this  man  was  only  moderately  busy. 
He  seemed  to  have  plenty  of  time  to  do  his  stud- 
ies better  than  anyone  else,  yet  he  was  able  also 
to  have  considerable  leisure  and  to  enjoy  life  to 
the  fullest  extent. 

When  such  a  man  graduates  from  a  technical 
school  he  takes  with  him  not  his  degree  alone, 


PREPARING   FOR  AN   EDUCATION  u 

but  also  a  well-rounded  professional  training 
that  will  soon  enable  him  to  command  some  very 
substantial  returns  on  the  added  money  and  time 
that  he  has  invested.  His  policy  has  been  a  wise 
one.  He  is  likely  to  keep  a  lap  ahead  of  the  other 
runners  in  the  race. 

Experience  and  Maturity  Through  Work 

Not  infrequently  it  happens  that,  as  regards 
his  studies,  a  man  may  be  prepared  for  a  technical 
education  beyond  all  question,  but  may  still  lack 
a  certain  degree  of  maturity  which  is  very  desira- 
ble. The  principles  dealt  with  in  the  specialized 
training  of  technical  schools  can  be  grasped  more 
readily  by  the  matured  mind.  Physical  age  is  of 
considerable  importance,  for  many  technical  insti- 
tutions do  not  allow  students  to  enter  below  the 
age  of  seventeen,  and  others  recommend  the  ages 
of  eighteen  or  nineteen  as  being  more  desirable. 

When  the  question  of  age  and  maturity  has 
to  be  carefully  weighed,  and  when  financial  con- 
siderations prevent  taking  an  extra  year  in  pre- 
paratory school  or  college,  work  in  some  indus- 
try for  a  year  offers  an  excellent  alternative.  If 
suitable  employment  is  found  the  experience  to 
be  gained  is  of  the  greatest  value.1  Parents  or 
students  troubled   by  the  problem   of   deciding 

1  See  Chapter  XV. 


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14  TACKLING   TECH. 

upon  the  best  preparation  for  a  technical  educa- 
tion may  do  well  in  many  cases  to  consider  such 
work  as  a  possibility 

Bibliography 

Baker,  R.  P.    Engineering  Education. 

Bishop,  F.  L.  Engineering  Education.  (United  States 
Bureau  of  Education.) 

Humphreys,  Dr.  A.  C.  The  College  Graduate  as  an 
Engineer. 

Iowa  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts. 
Education  in  Engineering. 

McDaniel,  A.  B.  Co-ordination  in  Engineering  In- 
struction.    (University  of  Illinois.) 

Magnusson,  C.  E.  The  College  Trained  Engineer. 
(Journal  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers.    Vol.  40,  Sept.  1921,  p.  730-36.) 

Mann,  C.  R.    A  Study  of  Engineering  Education. 

National  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Engineering 
Education.     Proceedings. 

Roe,  J.  W.  College  Training  for  Executives.  (Indus- 
trial Management.    Vol.  58,  Dec.  1919,  p.  458-61.) 

Scott,  Prof.  A.  C.  College  Training  of  Electrical 
Engineers. 

University  of  Texas.  Correlation  of  High  School  and 
College  Courses  in  the  Sciences. 

Waddell  and  Harrington.  Addresses  to  Engineering 
Students.     (Kansas  City,  Missouri.) 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  TO  PLAN  YOUR  TIME  AND  DO 
YOUR  WORK 

.    .    .    //  you  can  fill  the  unforgiving  minute 
With  sixty  seconds'  worth  of  distance  run 
Yours  is  the  Earth  and  everything  that's  in  it, 
And — which  is  more — you'll  be  a  Man,  my  son! 

— "If,"  by  Rudyard  Kipling 

Meeting  New  Conditions 

In  prep  school  you  found  a  good  deal  of  pres- 
sure brought  upon  you  to  get  your  work  done. 
In  the  technical  school  it  is  different.  The  oppor- 
tunity to  win  is  laid  before  you.  The  winning  is 
up  to  you.  You  must  run  under  your  own  power 
and  the  sooner  your  clutch  is  in,  the  better.  This 
means  initiative. 

Forget  what  people  have  told  you  about  the 
difficulties  of  a  technical  education.  After  you 
have  struck  your  pace  you  will  find  that  you  can 
instinctively  accelerate  your  step,  although  you 
must  strive  unremittingly.  To  accomplish  this 
you  must  plan  your  own  work  and  then  hold 
yourself  responsible  for  getting  it  done.  For- 
merly you  did  not  need  to  plan  your  work  more 
than  a  day  or  two  in  advance.  Now  you  must 
plan  by  the  week. 

15 


16  TACKLING   TECH. 

Developing  a  Plan 

Here  is  a  bit  of  my  own  experience.  At  prep 
school  I  began  like  everyone  else  to  do  my  work 
in  a  hit-or-miss  fashion,  but  one  day  a  teacher 
set  me  thinking.  He  said,  "You  fellows  think 
you  are  very  busy,  but  the  trouble  is  you  don't 
plan  your  work.  We  had  a  lad  here  once  who 
carefully  planned  everything.  He  gave  to  his 
studies  the  time  they  deserved.  He  spent  more 
time  than  most  of  you  do  on  athletics  and  outside 
work.  Still  he  was  able  to  read  considerably  and 
he  always  had  time  for  fun  on  the  side."  This 
so  appealed  to  me  that  I  was  eager  to  try  it. 
Although  I  did  not  realize  it,  here  was  "scientific 
management"  applied  to  prep  school. 

I  did  try  this  method  and  by  the  time  I  grad- 
uated from  prep  school  I  had  developed  a  fair 
but  crude  schedule.  When  I  began  my  techni- 
cal course,  I  tried  various  schemes.  Ultimately 
they  were  all  refined  by  trial  and  error  until  I 
reached  a  final  plan  which  worked.  I  shall  give 
you  here  a  general  but  practicable  scheme  for 
planning  your  work.  Its  principles  are  sound  and 
it  has  been  proved  efficient  in  practice,  not  by 
myself  alone,  but  by  many  other  graduates  and 
undergraduates  of  technical  institutions.  It  is 
easy  to  plan  your  work  when  you  know  how  to 
go  about  it. 


HOW  TO    PLAN   YOUR   TIME  17 

Co-operation  with  Instructors 

Do  not  wait  until  too  late  to  discover  that  if 
you  will  give  them  opportunity,  your  instructors 
stand  ready  to  help  you  in  every  phase  of  plan- 
ning your  work  and  getting  it  done.  Too  many 
fellows  feel  that  faculty  members  are  unques- 
tionably on  the  "other  side  of  the  fence,"  and 
consequently  make  few  attempts  to  obtain  from 
them  any  personal  advice  or  assistance.  In 
reality,  most  of  the  "Profs."  have  "been  there 
themselves"  and  if  approached  properly  will  not 
only  prove  to  be  firm  friends,  but  will  also  be  of 
the  greatest  assistance  in  helping  to  solve  the  per- 
sonal as  well  as  the  scholastic  problems  of  school 
life. 

Necessary  Information  and  Materials 

The  first  thing  to  do  in  laying  out  a  schedule 
is  to  study  the  work  you  have  to  do.  You  can't 
tell  when  you  should  study  for  a  chemistry  reci- 
tation, for  example,  until  you  get  a  general  idea 
of  the  work.  But  don't  spend  a  week  getting  this 
preliminary  information.  Take  special  notes  on 
these  points  in  the  first  classes  of  the  term.  You 
are  then  ready  to  make  out  your  preliminary 
schedule. 

Next  get  a  suitable  schedule  form.  You  have 
probably  been  furnished  with  printed  program 


i8 


TACKLING   TECH. 


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HOW  TO   PLAN   YOUR  TIME  19 

cards  on  which  you  have  filled  in  your  classes 
only.  You  will  need  a  more  general  form,  cov- 
ering all  your  working  hours.  Draw  up  a  Sched- 
ule Card,  similar  in  form  and  arrangement  to  the 
sample  schedule  card  shown  on  page  18  (Figure 
1  a). 

The  school  has  provided  its  own  schedule,  but 
not  yours.  Follow  the  example  thus  set  and  put 
your  plan  in  writing.  This  will  make  it  definite, 
and  will  have  the  additional  advantage  of  avoiding 
much  repetition  and  waste  of  time  in  the  long  run. 

Taking  Time  to  Plan 

Take  time  today  to  plan  your  work.  The  direc- 
tions below  tell  you  explicitly  how  to  go  about  it. 
If  you  do  not  know  how  to  build  a  schedule,  fol- 
low these  directions  carefully.  If  you  have  your 
own  method  which  you  think  is  good  enough,  fol- 
low it  with  equal  care.  The  way  recommended 
here  is  the  result  of  four  years  of  experience  by 
many  different  men.  Even  though  your  own 
method  may  be  better  for  your  particular  pur- 
poses, by  trying  this  other  way  once  you  are  likely 
to  get  some  suggestions  for  improving  yours. 
Be  sure  to  read  as  far  as  the  section  on  "Making 
Your  Plan  Work"  before  you  begin  to  fill  in  your 
card. 

I 


20  TACKLING   TECH. 

Building  a  Schedule 

The  first  step  in  making  out  a  schedule  is  to 
decide  points  in  regard  to  sleeping,  eating,  etc. 
Count  on  getting  plenty  of  sleep.1  If  you  can 
study  an  hour  before  breakfast,  or  with  merely 
a  bite  to  eat,  get  up  at  7  and  go  to  bed  at  1 1 .  At 
first  you  may  feel  that  you  cannot  do  this  to  ad- 
vantage, but  a  month's  trial  may  surprise  you, 
with  excellent  results.  In  this  case,  3  hours  will 
be  your  maximum  amount  of  study  time  for  any 
night.  If  you  find  by  actual  test  that  you  cannot 
study  to  advantage  in  the  morning,  get  up  at  8 
and  go  to  bed  at  12.  You  then  must  count  on  a 
maximum  of  4  hours  of  study  a  night.* 

Each  day  allow  an  hour  for  getting  dressed  and 
for  breakfast.  Allow  an  hour  for  lunch,  and  an 
hour  to  an  hour  and  one-half  for  dinner.  Plan 
to  stop  work  Saturday  at  1,  and  to  begin  again 
Monday  morning.  You  need  recreation  in  order 
to  do  your  best  work,  and  the  week-end  is  the 
best  opportunity  for  this.  The  man  who  can  work 
all  the  time  doesn't  exist. 

Plan  definitely  to  make  use  of  the  time  you 
have  available  between  classes.  For  certain 
kinds  of  work  these  hours  are  most  valuable. 
For  any  kind  of  work  they  are  far  more  valuable 


1  See  Chapter  VII. 

2  See  Chapter  III. 


HOW  TO    PLAN   YOUR   TIME  21 

than  no  time  at  all.   Count  on  filling  them  in,  and 
soon  you  will  learn , 'd  utilize  them  fully. 

The  next  step  *  1  planning  your  work  is  to 
analyze,  first,  the  »'brk  you  have  to  do,  and  then 
the  time  you  have  to  do  it  in.  The  schedule 
card  will  help  you  do  this.  This  step  will  require 
but  little  effort  and  will  give  you  an  excellent 
idea  of  where  your  time  actually  goes.  Be  sure 
to  read  entirely  through  the  chapter  before  put- 
ting anything  down  on  your  card.  Then  return 
to  this  point  and  follow  the  directions  carefully. 

Analyzing  Your  Work  and  Time 

Draw  up  a  blank  schedule  card  similar  to  the 
sample  shown  in  Figure  i  a  and  b  (pages  18  and 
22),  and  fill  it  out  as  follows.  Make  your  entries 
in  pencil.  This  schedule  is  not  to  be  copied.  Use 
it  as  a  sample  and  make  out  one  of  your  own. 
Learn  how  to  plan  your  own  work. 

1 .  In  the  oblong  spaces  of  your  schedule  card 
write  in  the  name  (or  number)  of  each  class 
which  you  have,  showing  also  room  numbers, 
etc.,  as  on  the  sample  schedule.  In  column  (I)  on 
the  back  of  the  card  (see  Figure  1  b)  fill  in  the 
number  of  hours  for  classes  for  each  day  and 
the  total  for  the  week. 

2.  In  the  small  squares  show,  by  means  of 
vertical  lines,  the  number  of  hours  of  preparation 


22  TACKLING   TECH. 


I  II 

Class  Hours  ^reparation  Hours 


M 

T 

W 

Th 

F 

S 


Total 

Total  Hours  for  Studies  for  the  Week 


Figure  i.     (b)  Schedule  Card  (reverse) 

required  for  each  recitation.  In  column  (II)  on 
the  back  of  the  card  (Figure  i  b)  fill  in  the  total 
number  of  hours  necessary  for  preparation  for 
each  day  and  for  the  week. 

3.  Add  items  (I)  and  (II)  on  the  back  of 
the  card  and  find  the  total  hours  required  for 
studies  for  the  week.  It  is  important  to  know 
the  total  number  of  hours  your  studies  should 
require  each  week  according  to  the  curriculum. 
This  will  enable  you  to  judge  how  heavy  a  load 
you  are  carrying.  Also,  it  will  aid  you  in  appor- 
tioning to  other  things  the  proper  amount  of 
time.  While  estimates  made  by  the  school  for 
the  time  required  to  prepare  each  subject  may  not 
be  absolutely  accurate,  they  furnish  you  with  the 
best  possible  standard  on  which  to  base  your  plan. 

4.  Fill  in  the  hours  which  you  are  required 


HOW  TO    PLAN   YOUR  TIME  23 

to  spend  on  things  other  than  studies  and  exer- 
cise which  are  absolutely  essential.  This  item 
should  include  time  for  meals,  commuting,  out- 
side work,  etc.  The  number  of  hours  which 
these  things  require  should  be  watched  very  care- 
fully. No  matter  what  school  you  attend  its 
minimum  will  be  about  17  hours  a  week,  and  its 
maximum  (for  others  than  commuters)  should 
not  ordinarily  be  above  22.  When  it  exceeds 
this  amount  it  will  be  worth  your  while  to  make 
a  careful  investigation  to  determine  whether  or 
not  that  which  is  requiring  this  amount  of  time 
actually  pays.3 

5.  Fill  in  the  hours  which  you  have  decided 
to  give  to  exercise,  and  designate  temporarily 
those  which  you  desire  to  give  to  activities,  etc.4 
Count  these  up  and  fill  in  the  total  on  the  back 
of  the  card. 

6.  Fit  the  hours  of  preparation  required  for 
your  studies  into  the  hours  still  left  vacant. 
Cross  out  each  vertical  line  in  the  square  as  that 
particular  hour  of  preparation  is  cared  for.  In 
case  there  are  not  enough  hours  available  to  care 
for  all  the  preparation,  you  must,  of  course,  reduce 
either  item  (4)  or  item  (5).    Studies  come  first. 


8  See  Chapter   XII. 

*  See  Chapters  VII  and  XI. 


24  TACKLING   TECH. 

Making  the  Most  of  Your  Time 

From  Monday  morning  until  the  following 
Saturday  noon,  allowing  yourself  reasonable 
time  for  eating  and  sleeping,  you  will  be  able  to 
find  between  65  and  70  hours  which  you  can  use. 
Add  items  (3),  (5),  and  (6)  and  see  how  near 
you  come  to  obtaining  65  hours.  Very  few 
schools  of  any  sort  require  more  than  48  hours 
of  work  a  week.  It  Would  seem  a  very  simple 
matter  for  anyone  to  fit  48  hours  into  65.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  other  17  hours  slip  away  all 
too  easily. 

It  should  be  one  of  your  chief  purposes  in 
planning  your  work  to  compress  your  48  hours 
of  study — if  this  is  the  amount  which  you  have 
to  do — into  48  actual  hours.  This  will  give  you 
more  time  for  play  and  for  other  things.  To  do 
this  you  will  need  to  fit  each  hour  of  work,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  into  the  very  best  hour  of 
time.  This  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  making  a 
good  schedule — a  plan  which  will  really  work. 

Arranging  the  Hours  of  Preparation 

When  you  undertake  to  fit  in  the  hours  of 
preparation  you  meet  with  the  real  problem  of 
arranging  your  work.  By  following  the  pre- 
vious directions  carefully  you  eliminate  as  many 
other  uncertainties  as  possible,  and  hence  make 


HOW*  TO    PLAN   YOUR   TIME  25 

this  final  step  easier.  With  a  little  practice  it  is 
not  dfficult  to  arrange  your  study  hours  to  advan- 
tage, but  it  takes  time.  You  cannot  hope  to  ac- 
complish the  desired  results  at  once. 

First  try  what  appears  to  be  a  reasonable  ar- 
rangement. Begin  with  classes  at  the  last  of  the 
week  and  work  backward,  filling  in  the  number 
of  study  hours  required  for  each  subject  you  are 
taking.  Work  forward,  also,  when  you  get 
stuck.  Keep  at  it  until  you  get  all  the  hours  of 
work  fitted  in. 

Don't  be  afraid  to  study  Saturday's  math,  as 
far  ahead  as  Wednesday  night,  or  Monday's 
physics  on  the  preceding  Friday.  This  will  help 
you  to  distribute  the  week's  load  and  at  the  same 
time  find  which  is  actually  the  best  time  to  do 
the  work.  Most  subjects  can  be  studied  to  best 
advantage  either  just  before  or  just  after  class. 
For  a  few  others  it  is  better  to  put  the  hours  of 
preparation  midway  between  recitations.  Study 
the  prepared  work  of  your  classes  and  determine 
very  carefully  the  better  method  in  each  case. 

Incentives 

A  good  way  to  keep  up  to  your  schedule  as  re- 
gards work  is  to  give  yourself  rewards  when  you 
complete  the  work  on  time.  Keep  in  mind  some 
pleasant  task  or  recreation  which  you  can  enjoy 


26  TACKLING   TECH. 

when  the  other  work  is  done.  In  the  sample 
schedule  on  page  18  the  freshman  gave  himself 
one  night  off  beside  his  week-ends.  This  fur- 
nished him  with  additional  incentive  for  putting 
through  the  remainder  of  the  schedule.  Also,  it 
gave  him  recreation  when  he  needed  it.  It  is  a 
good  policy  to  follow. 

Necessary  Changes  in  the  Schedule 

All  of  the  writing  on  the  card  should  at  first 
be  lightly  in  pencil.  This  enables  you  to  make 
the  changes  which  are  bound  to  be  necessary.  It 
is  usually  best  not  to  ink  in  even  your  classes  for 
a  week  or  so.  It  is  inevitable  that  shifts  in  sec- 
tions shall  be  made,  and  these  usually  necessitate 
several  revisions  of  your  schedule.  Hence  it  is 
well  not  to  be  too  hasty. 

Making  Your  Plan  Work 

Try  out  your  plan  of  work  for  a  week.  If  it 
is  absurdly  bad,  change  it  after  three  days,  but 
you  will  learn  more  from  sticking  to  it  longer. 
Incidentally,  your  studies  will  survive  the  trial 
surprisingly  well. 

After  the  first  week,  take  an  inventory  to  see 
how  you  stand.  You  will  have  learned  that  your 
Chemistry  should  be  studied  soon  after  the  lec- 
tures, perhaps,  and  that  you  can  do  all  your  Eng- 


HOW  TO   PLAN   YOUR  TIME  27 

lish  reading  at  school  Wednesday  morning. 
Make  the  changes — still  in  pencil — and  try 
again. 

Things  will  run  better  this  time.  However, 
you  will  be  tempted  to  cut  the  corners  here  and 
there.  You  will  want  to  "put  things  off  a  bit." 
Perhaps  you  are  not  accustomed  to  distributing 
the  load  over  a  whole  week.  If  not,  you  must 
learn  the  knack.  Don't  give  up  trying.  Stick  it 
out  and  give  your  studies  full  time.  You  will  be 
well  repaid  in  the  end. 

At  the  close  of  the  second  week  fill  in  your 
schedule  in  ink.  Do  a  neat  job.  You  have  now 
planned  your  work  as  well  as  you  can.  The  rest 
is  sticking  to  it.  There  will  still  be  interruptions 
and  changes,  but  these  you  can  patch  up.  Do 
not  hope  for  perfection  the  first  term.  Make  sug- 
gestions for  improvement  on  the  back  of  your 
card,  and  plan  for  better  results  next  time. 

Other  Methods 

There  are  ways  and  ways  of  planning  your 
work.  I  have  given  you  but  one.  Some  fellows 
feel  they  do  not  need  a  schedule.  Others  do  not 
want  one.  A  majority  of  men  who  do  not  at- 
tempt to  plan  their  work  say  that  they  could  not 
follow  a  plan  if  they  had  it.  Quite  likely  they 
could  not.     However,  the  fact  that  a  man  does 


28  TACKLING   TECH. 

not  follow  his  schedule  exactly  does  not  destroy 
the  value  of  the  plan.  He  at  least  knows  at  all 
times  where  he  stands,  and  this  is  the  important 
thing.  No  one  can  follow  a  schedule  exactly.  It 
is  the  man  who  plans  his  work  and  follows  his 
plan  in  so  far  as  it  is  possible  who  gets  the  most 
accomplished  in  the  long  run. 

There  is,  of  course,  the  other  extreme — the 
man  who  never  plans  his  work,  and  in  fact  is  not 
suited  for  a  technical  education  at  all.  An  exam- 
ple of  this  may  not  be  out  of  place.  One  man 
whom  I  knew  never  made  any  pretense  of  plan- 
ning his  work.  About  8  o'clock  he  would  come 
up  to  his  room  to  study.  For  fifteen  minutes  or 
half  an  hour  he  would  dig  on  mathematics.  Soon 
he  would  change  to  physics.  Before  an  hour  was 
up  he  would  have  taken  a  shot  at  three  or  four 
subjects,  having  knocked  off  to  joke  between 
times.  At  9:30  or  10  he  would  stick  on  his  hat 
and  dash  off  to  the  Waldorf  for  a  ham  sandwich 
and  a  cup  of  coffee.  When  he  returned,  if  exams, 
were  near,  he  might  study  till  2  or  even  3  a.  m. 
Usually  he  fell  asleep,  either  in  bed  or  on  the 
floor,  sometimes  studying,  but  more  often  read- 
ing Judge. 

Such  methods  spell  failure  in  your  school 
work.  Get  down  to  business  and  stick  to  it  for 
four  years.    This  is  the  way  to  earn  your  degree. 


HOW  TO   PLAN   YOUR   TIME  29 

A  Means  to  an  End 

On  the  other  hand,  the  work  of  your  studies  is 
not  everything,  it  is  only  a  part  of  the  bigger, 
broader  education  you  must  get  from  your  four 
years  of  training.  Your  schedule  is  your  plan  of 
work,  but  you  can  make  it  also  your  plan  for 
play.  You  must  follow  it  persistently  for  the 
most  part.  You  must  stick  to  it  nine  times  out  of 
ten.  The  tenth  time,  perhaps,  you  must  break  it ! 
In  other  words,  be  a  man,  not  an  automaton. 
You  must  run  the  schedule  and  your  work  and 
not  let  them  run  you. 

Bibliography 

Adams,  John.     Making  the  Most  of  One's  Mind. 
Edwards,  A.  S.     Fundamental  Principles  of  Learning 

and  Study.    (Warwick  and  York.) 
Emerson,  Harrington.     Course  in  Personal  Efficiency. 
Garth,  T.   R.     How   College   Students  Prepare  Their 

Lessons.     (Pedagogical  Seminary.     Vol.  27,  1920, 

p.  90-98.) 
Gowin,  E.  B.    Developing  Executive  Ability. 
Hazlitt,  Henry.    Thinking  as  a  Science. 
King,  I.    An  Inquiry  into  Certain  Aspects  of  the  Study 

Habits  of  University  Students.    (  School  &  Society. 

Vol.  2,  191 5,  p.  824-28.) 
Kitson,  H.  D.    How  to  Use  Your  Mind. 
Scientific  Study  of  the  College  Student.     (Psy- 
chological Review  Monographs.    Vol.  23,  No.  89, 

1917.) 


3o  TACKLING   TECH. 

Lunt,   F.   S.     Some   Investigations  of    Study  Habits. 

Journal  of  Educational  Psychology.    Vol.  I,  1910, 

p.  344-8.) 
Mudge,  E.  J.     Automatisms  in  Study.     (Pedagogical 

Seminary.    Vol.  2J}  1920,  p.  99-100.) 
Rowe,   S.    H.     Study   Habit  and  How   to   Form   It. 

(Education.    Vol.  30,  19 10,  p.  670-83.) 
Swain,  G.  F.    How  to  Study. 
Whipple,  G.  M.    How  to  Study  Effectively. 

(See  also  under  Chapters  III  and  IV.) 


CHAPTER  III 

HOW  TO  CONCENTRATE 

It  doesn't  make  any  difference  how  mean  and  trifling  the 
thing  you're  doing  may  seem  at  the  timey  that's  the  big  thing 
and  the  only  thing  for  you  then. — "Letters  from  a  Self- 
made  Merchant  to  his  Son" 

Beginning  Right 

The  extent  of  your  professional  training  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  kind  of  studying  you  do. 
The  methods  you  use  and  the  habits  you  form 
in  your  study  are  of  fundamental  importance. 
This  is  especially  true  during  your  first  two 
years;  thereafter  you  will  probably  persist  in  the 
course  you  have  chosen.  If  you  want  to  make 
good  eventually,  begin  right.  It  may  be  difficult 
but  it  is  worth  while.  There  is  only  one  way  to 
avoid  vain  regrets  in  regard  to  studying.  See 
your  faults  now,  and  correct  them. 

Physical  Preparation  for  Study 

Most  fellows  are  bothered  with  the  problem  of 
how  to  concentrate.  Half  of  it  is  a  matter  of 
physical  and  mental  preparation  for  study,  and 
the  other  half  is  practice. 

By  physical  preparation  I  do  not  mean  only 

3i 

/ 


32  TACKLING   TECH. 

that  you  must  be  physically  able  to  work  by  ob- 
taining proper  rest,  exercise,  and  diet.  These,  it 
is  true,  are  of  primary  importance.1  But  your 
physical  surroundings  also  need  attention.  First, 
you  must  have  a  good  place  to  work.  It  is  essen- 
tial to  have  a  comfortable  chair  (but  not  too  com- 
fortable!), a  suitable  desk,  and  the  best  light  pos- 
sible. These  are  well  worth  an  added  investment 
of  time  and  money.  The  man  who  tries  to  work 
in  a  poor  light  is  almost  sure  to  be  handicapping 
himself  more  seriously  than  he  realizes.  Plenty 
of  fresh  air  is  also  essential.  Give  these  details 
your  immediate  attention,  if  you  have  not  already 
done  so.    You  will  be  well  repaid  for  the  trouble. 

Your  equipment  should  be  carefully  arranged. 
See  that  everything  you  need  is  near  at  hand.  It 
is  most  disconcerting  to  seat  yourself  for  an 
hour's  work  on  some  engineering  problem  and 
five  minutes  later  to  jump  up  to  borrow  your 
neighbor's  handbook,  or  to  find  your  own  steam 
tables  and  your  slide  rule.  Acquire  the  habit  of 
having  at  hand  the  things  you  will  need.  It  will 
repay  you  many  times  over  before  you  have  com- 
pleted your  four  years'  course. 

A  condition  which  often  helps  one  to  concen- 
trate is  to  have  the  decks  "cleared  for  action"  be- 
fore beginning.    Take  a  couple  of  minutes  at  the 


i  See  Chapter  VII. 


HOW   TO    CONCENTRATE  33 

start  to  clean  up  your  desk.  Next  get  out  your 
graph  paper,  drawing  instruments,  triangles,  and 
textbooks,  or  whatever  you  will  need.  You  will 
then  be  able  to  buckle  down  to  your  task.  By 
continuous  effort  you  can  often  accomplish  more 
in  forty-five  minutes  than  you  otherwise  could 
in  an  hour. 

Mental  Preparation 

It  is  even  more  important,  perhaps,  to  have 
your  brain  "cleared  for  action."  Put  all  cares 
and  worries  from  your  mind.  The  study  hour  is 
not  the  time  to  think  of  errands  you  must  do, 
or  of  any  engagements  you  have  in  mind.  Do 
not  let  your  fancy  dwell  upon  whatever  may  pop 
into  your  head.  Concentrate  upon  the  work  you 
have  to  do.  See  it  in  the  light  of  its  relation  to 
your  course.  In  almost  any  job  you  undertake 
an  ounce  of  interest  is  worth  a  pound  of  effort. 

Working  at  Maximum  Efficiency 

You  cannot  expect  to  be  able  to  keep  your  mind 
centered  upon  one  thing  too  long  at  a  stretch. 
Some  time  ago  a  man  came  to  me  with  the  com- 
plaint that  he  "could  not  concentrate."  Some- 
thing was  evidently  wrong,  for  his  record  showed 
a  consistent  number  of  failures.  We  decided  to 
search  out  the  trouble  together.     A  frank  talk 


34  TACKLING   TECH. 

revealed  at  least  one  thing  which  was  not  right 
and  which  could  be  changed.  He  was  trying  to 
put  three  or  four  hours  of  study  on  a  subject  in 
one  evening,  and  he  was  not  one  who  could  con- 
centrate for  such  long  periods.  Accordingly  we 
rearranged  his  work,  cut  down  the  maximum 
time  each  night  to  three  hours,  and  planned  for 
him  to  study  no  longer  than  two  hours  at  a 
stretch  on  any  one  thing.  The  results  were  re- 
markable. Within  a  short  time  he  began  to  pick 
up  in  his  work.  He  found  that  he  could  concen- 
trate, and  his  work  improved  considerably. 

The  moral  is,  you  should  work  hard  but  not 
too  long.  It  does  not  pay  in  the  long  run  to  sit 
up  too  late  to  study.  Anyone  who  becomes  en- 
grossed in  a  problem  is  tempted  to  stay  up  and 
dig  on  it  until  the  wee  small  hours.  Use  your 
will  power  to  quit  at  the  proper  time. 

Interruptions 

There  is  really  no  defence  against  the  inter- 
ruptions  of  a  friend  who  drops  into  the  room 
when  you  are  trying  to  study.  Here  the  prob- 
lem is  the  same  one  that  you  will  have  in  later 
life.  Many  of  our  greatest  business  men  have  a 
marked  characteristic  in  this  regard.  No  matter 
how  fully  occupied  they  may  be  with  their  work, 
they  are  always  ready  to  see  their  friends.     Yet 


HOW   TO    CONCENTRATE  35 

few  really  big  business  men  will  allow  a  friend 
or  caller  to  waste  his  time  with  aimless  conver- 
sation. Roosevelt,  it  is  said,  had  such  a  remark- 
able power  in  his  personality  that  he  would  com- 
pletely dominate  an  interview.  At  a  certain  mo- 
ment, in  the  calls  which  were  made  upon  him  at 
the  White  House,  the  visitor  would  find  himself 
clutching  his  hat  convulsively,  and  the  President, 
overcoming  his  disappointment,  would  manfully 
bid  him  goodby!  Few  of  us  can  ever  become 
such  masters  of  the  art  of  dismissal,  but,  we  can 
strive  to  approach  this  goal. 

While  there  is  no  real  protection  against  too 
frequent  interruptions  by  others,  much  can  be 
done  to  lessen  the  annoyance.  In  the  first  place, 
locate  yourself  where  it  is  unlikely  that  you  will 
be  disturbed.  It  is  not  necessary  to  force  your 
own  methods  upon  others,  but  you  can  let  it  be 
clearly  understood  that  it  is  your  study  hour. 
When  interruptions  do  come,  take  them  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  but  do  not  go  out  of  your  way  to 
find  them.  Make  it  your  definite  policy  not  to 
disturb  the  other  fellow.  If  you  carry  this  out 
consistently,  he  will  not  be  likely  to  interrupt  you. 

How  to  Study  a  Subject 

An   important   part   of   an   education   comes 
through   observing  experience   and   practice   of 


36  TACKLING   TECH. 

other  men  who  have  done  what  we  wish  to  do. 
Some  forms  of  study  are  necessarily  a  matter  of 
memory.  When  any  sort  of  memory  work  is  en- 
countered it  is  well  to  realize  that  there  is  a  right 
and  a  wrong  method  of  memorizing.  The  wrong 
method  is  to  memorize  by  rote.  In  this  one  sim- 
ply connects  two  things  or  ideas  by  incessant 
repetition.  Thus  a  student  might  learn  the  for- 
mula for  water  by  repeating  the  symbols  H20 
until  he  has  them  firmly  fixed  in  mind.  Likewise 
he  might  memorize  the  formula  for  sulphuric 
acid  by  repeating  the  symbols  H2S04i  etc.,  etc. 

Tested  Methods  of  Memorizing 

The  right  method  of  memorizing  is  by  under- 
standing. When  this  method  is  used  an  effort  is 
made  to  connect  new  knowledge  with  what  is  al- 
ready known.  This  should  be  done  in  as  many 
different  ways  as  possible.  Thus  in  the  case  of 
the  composition  of  water  the  student  would  learn 
that  it  is  made  up  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  A 
laboratory  experiment  would  be  used  to  verify 
this.  By  exact  measurement  the  student  would 
establish  the  volume  relationship,  and  from  this 
there  would  appear  the  formula  H20.  The  same 
would  be  done  in  the  case  of  H2SO±,  and  so  on 
for  other  similar  cases. 

At  first  sight  the  second  method  appears  the 


HOW   TO    CONCENTRATE  37 

harder  of  the  two.  Actually,  in  the  long  run,  it 
is  much  easier.  In  the  first  method  the  student 
must  deal  with  thousands  of  unrelated  facts.  By 
acquiring  the  habit  of  relating  these  facts  to 
knowledge  he  already  has,  the  student  simplifies 
his  task  in  the  long  run.  Numerous  facts  group 
themselves  about  a  few  general  principles.  By 
mastering  these  it  is  made  much  easier  to  build 
up  a  whole  framework  of  knowledge  regarding 
such  a  science  as  chemistry. 

In  using  the  logical  or  understanding  method 
of  learning,  remember  first  to  associate  each  new 
fact  encountered  with  as  many  familiar  facts  as 
possible;  second,  always  try  to  associate  a  new 
fact  from  the  very  first  with  that  category  of 
knowledge  to  which  it  rightly  belongs.  It  is 
even  harder  to  unlearn  a  mistaken  relationship 
than  to  learn  an  unrelated  fact.  Finally,  bring 
to  mind  as  often  as  possible  what  has  been  learned, 
scattering  these  reviews  over  a  considerable  pe- 
riod of  time.  The  engineer  must  be  able  to  recall 
what  he  knows  when  he  needs  the  information. 
This  ability  can  be  acquired  only  through  long, 
hard  practice,  and  now  is  the  time  to  begin. 

Putting  Methods  into  Practice 

When  starting  in  to  study  a  subject,  make 
yourself  review   rapidly  the  ground   you   have 


38  TACKLING   TECH. 

covered  to  date.  See  how  much  you  can  recall 
to  mind.  It  is  worth  your  while  to  spend  a  few 
moments  in  this  way.  When  you  have  brought 
as  much  as  possible  of  your  knowledge  to  the 
surface,  so  to  speak,  you  will  be  ready  to  begin 
work  on  a  more  advanced  lesson. 

At  one  time  or  another  you  will  become  en- 
grossed in  some  particular  subject  which  you  are 
studying.  You  can  then  fit  other  matters  into 
this  and  so  make  them  stick.  Quite  often  there 
will  be  some  special  problem  on  which  you  are 
engaged.  Such,  for  instance,  might  be  the  build- 
ing of  an  amateur  radio  outfit.  With  this  prob- 
lem in  mind  you  can  study  with  keen  interest 
considerable  portions  of  your  physics  and  chem- 
istry, to  see  how  they  relate  to  your  hobby. 
Again,  in  many  of  the  problems  in  activities,  you 
can  turn  to  practical  use  the  methods  which  you 
acquire  in  your  studies.  There  are  few  ways 
more  helpful  in  impressing  upon  your  mind  the 
important  points  of  a  technical  education  than  to 
make  practical  use  of  your  knowledge  as  often 
as  possible. 

Developing  the  Critical  Attitude 

As  time  goes  on  it  is  important  that  you  de- 
velop the  critical  attitude  toward  your  work.  No 
matter  what  you  are  studying,  try  to  keep  your 


HOW  TO    CONCENTRATE  39 

mind  open,  ready  to  question  every  statement 
made.  It  is  better  to  be  hypercritical  than  to  ac- 
cept as  fact  all  that  you  read  or  hear.  Again  and 
again  during  your  course  errors  will  appear  in 
standard  works  where  they  are  least  expected.  I 
recall  a  case  where  a  class  of  more  than  thirty 
men  worked  out  a  problem  given  them  without 
one  discovering  the  obvious  error  it  contained. 
The  man  who  perceives  the  misprint  in  the 
demonstration  of  a  calculus  formula  possesses  a 
valuable  trait.  It  takes  a  true  critic  to  find  a  flaw 
in  that  which  others  have  held  to  be  perfect. 
Such  men  are  rare,  and  as  regards  the  world's 
progress,  invaluable. 

The  Seven  Devils  of  Obstruction 

To  get  things  done,  first  get  them  started.  The 
man  who  sits  at  his  desk,  open  book  before  him, 
but  his  head  filled  with  big,  dreamy  ideas,  never 
accomplishes  much.  Plan  to  do  things  the  short- 
est and  quickest  way,  and  reduce  your  non-pro- 
ductive time  to  a  minimum.  The  goal  of  con- 
centration is  not  a  difficult  one  to  attain,  once  you 
understand  and  put  into  practice  the  rules  of  the 
game. 

In  your  third  or  fourth  year,  if  not  before,  read 
"Developing  Executive  Ability/'  by  E.  B.  Gowin. 
The  author  of  this  book  analyzes  very  well  the 


40  TACKLING   TECH. 

hindrances  which  beset  the  business  executive. 
With  one  or  two  changes,  the  "seven  devils  of 
obstruction"  of  the  business  man  apply  equally 
well  to  the  student.    They  are : 

Procrastination. 
The  big  dreamy  idea. 
Things  forgotten. 
Interruptions. 
Roundabout  methods. 
Letting  things  slide. 
Just  getting  by. 

Bibliography 

Chorters,  Mrs.  W.  W.     Methods  of  Study.     (Mimeo- 
graphed report  on  methods  used  in  college.) 

Gildemeister,  F.     Study  at  Home.     (National  Educa- 
tion Association.     Proceedings,  1909,  p.  1009-12.) 

Giles,  F.  M.     Sensible  Directions  for  Study.     (School 
Review.    Vol.  22,  1914,  p.  635-37.) 

Hazlitt,  Henry.    Thinking  as  a  Science. 

Hinsdale,  B.  A.    Art  of  Study. 

Kitson,  H.  D.    How  to  Use  Your  Mind. 

Larson,  C.  D.     Concentration. 

McMurry,  F.  M.    How  to  Study. 

Martin,  A.  S.    How  to  Study.     (Education.    Vol.  40, 
1919,  p.  248-50.) 

Starch,  E.  K.    Educational  Psychology. 

VanHise,  C.  R.    Concentration  and  Control. 
(See  also  under  Chapter  II.) 


CHAPTER  IV 

HOW  TO  TAKE  NOTES  AND  USE  THEM 

The  Personal  Equation  in  Note-Taking 

There  is,  in  every  school,  the  man  who  appa- 
rently does  not  need  to  take  notes.  I  recall  the 
case  of  a  student  in  a  sophomore  section  in  Phys- 
ics who  would  sit  immovable  through  hours  of 
explanation  of  electrcial  theory  and  apparently 
retain  almost  all  the  details  without  the  aid  of  any 
notations.  Other  men  prefer  to  listen  attentively 
to  all  that  is  said,  and  immediately  after  class 
compose  their  notes  by  recalling  and  recording 
the  most  important  points  brought  out.  Such 
"listening"  methods,  while  possibly  excellent 
training,  are  on  the  whole  unsafe  for  the  techni- 
cal student.  The  memory  cannot  be  relied  upon 
in  retaining  such  masses  of  detail  as  one  inevitably 
meets.  It  cannot  be  emphasized  too  strongly 
that  it  is  imperative  for  you  to  begin  the  practice 
of  note-taking  with  the  start  of  your  course. 

The  permanent  records  which  you  make  of 
your  courses  of  study  are  likely  to  be  one  of  your 
most  valuable  sources  of  knowledge  during  your 
undergraduate  years  and  thereafter.  No  pains 
should  be  spared  to  make  them  understandable 

4i 


42  TACKLING   TECH. 

and  complete,  and  to  record  and  file  them  in  such 
a  way  that  they  shall  be  of  permanent  value.  It 
is  to  those  who  are  anxious  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  this  work  in  the  most  satisfactory  and 
least  expensive  manner  that  this  chapter  is  di- 
rected. 

Systems  of  Note-Taking 

Before  discussing  the  actual  method  of  taking- 
notes,  it  will  be  well  to  survey  quickly  the  field 
of  note-taking  equipment.  An  analysis  of  note- 
books and  forms,  which  includes  those  used  ex- 
tensively by  most  technical  students,  is  given 
below: 

Approximate 
Type  of  Equipment  Size  of  Page 

(Inches) 

Memindex 2^  x   4 

Lefax  3^x   6^ 

Fixed-page  notebooks 2^2  x   4  to  7^  x  10 

Loose-leaf  notebooks 2/2X   4  to  8^2x11 

Standard    or    other    size    paper    with 

Strapflex  binders Sl/2  x  11  or  smaller 

Standard  or  other  size  paper  with  ad- 
justable clip  binder  and  pasteboard 
or  cloth  cover W2  x  11  or  smaller 

Memindex  (pocket  memorandum;  see  also  in 
Chapter  V,  page  62,)  is  not  suitable  for  taking 
notes  regularly,  but  it  can  be  used  to  advantage 
to  record  lesson  assignments,   and  in  cases  of 


HOW   TO    TAKE   NOTES  43 

emergency  to  jot  down  the  substance  of  a  lecture. 

Lefax  has  a  wide  variety  of  forms,  can  be  car- 
ried conveniently  in  the  pocket,  and  its  pages  are 
readily  filed. 

Fixed-page  notebooks  are  seldom  applicable  in 
any  form  to  college  work  except  in  special  cases. 
The  larger  loose-leaf  notebooks  give  sufficient 
space  for  nearly  all  kinds  of  work,  but  their  first 
cost  is  likely  to  be  high,  and  specially  punched 
paper  is  required  for  the  filler. 

Strapflex  binders,  which  are  manilla  folders 
with  the  provision  made  for  binding  letter-size 
paper  with  common  brass  fasteners,  are  conven- 
ient for  carrying  separate  sets  of  notes  and  for 
filing. 

The  cheap  pasteboard  or  cloth  cover  binder, 
size  gy2  xn^,  which,  by  means  of  a  "clutch- 
clip"  or  other  simple  binding  device,  will  hold 
all  descriptions  of  paper  up  to  standard  letter 
size  (Syi  x  11)  gives  all  the  advantages  of  large 
size  paper,  elasticity  and  reasonable  cost. 

Selecting  a  Permanent  Equipment 

In  selecting  your  note-taking  equipment  for  a 
four-year  course  it  is  worth  your  while  to  decide 
upon  a  form  which  will  meet  your  requirements 
consistently  from  first  to  last.  Many  men  find 
that,  in  the  long  run,  the  more  elaborate  and 


44  TACKLING   TECH. 

more  complete  systems  do  not  give  the  all-round 
satisfactory  results  obtainable  from  simpler  and 
cheaper  methods. 

One  very  important  feature  to  consider  is  the 
size  of  the  page.  Any  notations  or  sketches 
which  can  be  recorded  on  a  small  paper  can  be 
set  forth  as  well  or  better  on  a  larger  sheet. 
Neatness,  clearness,  and  completeness  are  fre- 
quently far  more  desirable  in  recording  techni- 
cal data  than  compactness.  In  all  your  note-tak- 
ing a  fact  worth  keeping  in  mind  is  the  negligi- 
ble cost  of  paper,  compared  with  the  value  of 
your  time. 

Making  Note-Taking  Worth  While 

The  framework  for  a  lecture,  or,  in  fact,  for 
any  written  or  spoken  expression  of  thought,  is 
the  outline  or  list  of  subjects  discussed.  In  tak- 
ing notes  of  a  lecture  this  framework  should  re- 
ceive your  attention  first. 

The  taking  of  a  simple  outline  is  not  ordi- 
narily difficult,  but  where  the  complete  thoughts 
of  a  speaker  are  to  be  recorded  the  problem  is 
different.  Some  students  are  prone  to  take 
thought  notes  "parrot  fashion'' ;  that  is,  they  re- 
ceive information  through  their  eyes  and  ears 
and  simply  record  it  in  the  same  words.  This 
method  may  be  better  than  none,  but  the  returns 


HOW  TO   TAKE   NOTES  45 

to  be  expected  are  likely  to  be  small  in  proportion 
to  the  effort  expended. 

Make  your  notes  similar  to  those  taken  by  a 
newspaper  reporter  and  not  like  those  of  a  sten- 
ographer. The  man  who  takes  stenographic 
notes  usually  files  them  without  rereading  or  re- 
vising, and  is  not  likely  to  look  at  them  again. 

Notes  taken  properly  are  a  record  of  your  own 
thoughts  and  not  merely  a  resume  of  what  some- 
one else  has  said  or  written.  For  this  reason 
they  are  doubly  valuable  to  you.  Besides  aiding 
you  to  digest  the  knowledge  which  you  wish  to 
make  your  own,  such  notes  furnish  you  with  a 
permanent  record  of  your  studies. 

Notes  of  Permanent  Value 

As  shown  above,  an  outline  of  a  lecture  is 
likely  to  be  more  brief  and  easier  to  take  than 
notes  including  both  subjects  and  predicates. 
Such  outline  notes,  on  the  other  hand,  are  of  little 
value  unless  the  actual  ideas  expressed  by  the 
speaker  are  fresh  in  the  mind  of  the  person  read- 
ing them.  Records  that  you  take  in  the  outline 
form  "grow  cold"  rapidly.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  you  will  take  care  to  see  that  valuable  data  are 
put  in  the  form  of  an  abstract  before  riling,  it 
becomes  equally  valuable  to  you  now  or  in  the 
future. 


46  TACKLING   TECH. 

The  two  samples  of  lecture  notes  shown  below 
(Figures  2a  and  b)  bring  out  this  point.  By 
reading  over  the  outline  in  the  first  case,  one  gets 


EL    jtZejt 


figure  2.     (a)   Lecture  Notes  in  Outline  i^orm 

a  vague  idea  of  what  the  lecturer  had  to  say.  The 
abstract  form,  however,  has  the  power  to  bring 
to  one's  mind  almost  the  exact  thoughts  which 
were  emphasized  in  the  lecture.     Your  ideal  in 


HOW  TO   TAKE   NOTES  47 

note-taking  should  be  to  put  your  notes  into  such 
form  that  they  can  be  easily  read  and  understood 
if  reviewed  by  you  five  years  hence. 


J^rhctJ'  'ricust'  -*fo-ixs X^LglJ' <r-C£^4s  &coc*y 


&asrV 


Cta  -£c*cJ~  . 


Figue   2.     (b)    Lecture    Notes    in    Abstract   or    Predicate 
Form 


48  TACKLING   TECH. 

The  Use  of  Shorthand  in  Note-Taking 

Some  do  not  find  shorthand  too  difficult  to 
learn  through  individual  study,  but  the  better 
method  is  to  take  a  course  in  the  subject.  If  pos- 
sible, avail  yourself  of  this  opportunity  in  high 
school.  Perhaps  a  summer  course  will  offer  an 
excellent  alternative.  If  the  learning  of  a  short- 
hand system  is  undertaken  at  all  it  is  worth  while 
to  become  proficient.  It  is  then  possible  to  keep 
in  good  practice  by  using  this  method  of  saving 
time  in  much  everyday  work. 

The  danger  in  using  shorthand  is  that  words 
will  be  recorded  rather  than  thoughts.  By  taking 
the  notes  in  shorthand  more  time  should  be  made 
available  for  thought  and  attention  on  what  is 
being  said.  If  notes  are  taken  by  this  method, 
and  later  transcribed  in  long  hand  or  on  the  type- 
writer, excellent  results  can  be  obtained. 

Systematic  Filing  of  Notes 

In  addition  to  taking  careful  records  through- 
out your  course,  you  should  also  see  that  they 
are  properly  preserved.  Any  system  of  note-filing 
which  you  adopt  should  be  simple  enough  for  you 
to  maintain  regularly,  so  that  the  notes  may  be 
readily  accessible  for  immediate  reference.  Also 
they  should  be  in  such  form  that  all  or  a  part  of 
the  material  can  be  moved  without  difficulty. 


HOW   TO   TAKE    NOTES  49 

Usual  Methods  of  Filing  Notes 

There  are  probably  as  many  ways  of  attempt- 
ing to  file  notes  as  there  are  methods  of  taking 
them.  One  of  the  commonest,  which  many  stu- 
dents too  often  adopt  through  negligence,  is  to 
leave  them  in  a  notebook  until  the  end  of  the 
term.  There  is  then  little  time  for  revision  or 
rearrangement,  and  in  the  general  clean-up  pre- 
ceding or  following  exams.,  the  notes  are  removed 
from  the  book  and  stored  in  some  convenient  cor- 
ner or  on  an  out-of-the-way  shelf. 

This  method  of  keeping  notes  is  sure  in  the 
long  run  to  prove  unsatisfactory.  The  helter- 
skelter  arrangement  of  the  pages  makes  it  almost 
impossible  to  find  what  is  wanted  when  it  is 
needed.  Unless  a  description  of  the  contents  is 
placed  upon  the  package,  and  the  precaution  taken 
to  stamp  the  notes  properly  with  the  owner's 
name,  many  of  the  papers  are  likely  to  become 
lost.  To  get  satisfaction  from  filing  your  notes, 
you  must  be  prepared  to  give  the  matter  serious 
attention  and  adhere  to  a  systematic  scheme  of 
arrangement  consistently  throughout  your  course. 

A  Practical  Method  Which  Gives  Good  Results 
One  can  never  begin  too  soon  to  keep  notes  in 
good  order.     If  you  desire  to  do  this  in  a  simple, 
practical  way,  the  following  may  prove  of  value : 


50  TACKLING   TECH. 

Obtain  first  a  dozen  or  so  heavy  manila  fold- 
ers, size  9  x  11^2,  provided  with  tabs  which  pro- 
ject up  half  an  inch  when  the  folders  are  upright. 
Fill  in  the  tabs  of  as  many  folders  as  necessary, 
using  a  separate  container  for  each  subject.  On 
the  outside  of  the  folder  can  be  written  or 
stamped  the  year,  term,  and  date  when  the  course 
was  taken,  together  with  a  list  of  the  textbooks 
used,  etc.  This  information,  while  it  may  appear 
superfluous,  is  often  of  real  value  later.  Above 
all,  be  sure  that  the  various  sections  of  the  notes 
are  stamped  with  your  name,  with  suitable  in- 
structions for  returning  when  borrowed  or  lost. 

Adaptations  to  Special  Methods 

The  folders  above  described  are  best  suited  for 
use  with  note  paper  of  standard  size,  8V2  x  II. 
In  case  Lefax  or  any  other  small-page  note  sys- 
tem is  used,  other  types  of  containers  can  per- 
haps be  used  to  better  advantage.  In  all  cases, 
however,  equal  care  should  be  taken  to  remove 
used  pages  from  the  notebook  as  often  as  once  a 
week,  and  to  restock  with  fresh  paper.  This  re- 
moval of  pages  from  the  notebook  for  riling 
should,  of  course,  be  in  addition  to  any  regular 
study  or  rewriting  of  the  notes.  The  latter 
should  be  carried  out,  as  emphasized  above,  as 
soon  after  the  notes  are  taken  as  possible. 


HOW   TO    TAKE   NOTES  51 

Storing  of  Notes 

During  the  term  the  four  or  five  folders  neces- 
sary to  hold  the  notes  which  are  being  taken 
should  be  kept  conveniently  at  hand.  This  can 
usually  be  accomplished  to  best  advantage  by 
standing  the  folders  upright  behind  the  books  on 
your  desk  or  table,  with  possibly  an  extra  book- 
holder  to  keep  them  from  sagging.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  the  folders  are  stored,  it  is  usually 
best  to  lay  them  flat  with  the  tabs  protruding  so 
as  to  be  read  most  easily.  In  this  way  they  will 
keep  their  shape,  and  when  reference  is  made  to 
any  particular  set  of  notes  that  folder  can  be  with- 
drawn entirely  from  the  pile. 

All  of  the  folders  containing  the  records  for  a 
separate  term  or  year  may  be  bound  loosely  to- 
gether. In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  chronological 
order  in  which  the  groups  of  notes  are  taken 
gives  the  most  satisfactory  scheme  for  filing. 
With  proper  care  in  labeling  and  storing  the  fold- 
ers, excellent  results  can  be  obtained  in  locating 
immediately  any  particular  problems  or  corre- 
lated data  which  are  needed  for  reference. 

Bibliography 

Seward,  S.  S.     Note  Taking. 
Robinson,  A.  T.     Note  Taking. 


CHAPTER  V 

SPECIAL  TOOLS  AND  EQUIPMENT 

Everybody  who  ever  did  anything  anywhere  had  to  find 
the  grindstone  and  rwi  himself  against  it  until  he  developed 
an  edge  that  would  cut  something. — Kaufman 

Obtaining  Necessary  Equipment 

Throughout  your  course  you  will  be  confronted 
with  the  question  of  what  tools  and  equipment 
you  ought  to  buy.  A  student  will  not  always 
have  the  exact  articles  needed  thrust  before  him. 
In  many  cases  he  will  not  fully  realize  a  need 
until  he  has  the  equipment  at  hand.  He  then 
regrets  that  such  equipment  was  not  purchased 
long  before.  In  other  cases,  expensive  apparatus 
will  be  bought  which  will  be  used  only  a  short 
time  and  then  discarded.  In  the  aggregate  the 
cost  of  articles  so  purchased  represents  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  money  thrown  away.  I  knew 
of  several  men,  during  my  four-year  course, 
each  of  whom  spent  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  dollars  merely  on  miscellaneous  equip- 
ment. 

In  the  purchasing  of  equipment  two  steps  are 
necessary  to  avoid  making  mistakes :  first,  study 
your  needs,  and  second,  use  discretion  in  pur- 
.    .  52 


SPECIAL   TOOLS   AND   EQUIPMENT         53 

chasing.  You  must  be  constantly  alert  to  sense 
the  need  for  some  particular  tool  which  you  can 
use  to  advantage  in  saving  time,  energy,  or 
money.  When  you  have  discovered  some  short- 
coming, analyze  the  trouble  carefully  to  deter- 
mine how  you  can  best  supply  the  want.  Re- 
member that  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  one 
hundred  your  problem  has  been  solved  by  innu- 
merable students  before  you.  Employ  the  prin- 
ciple of  "competent  counsel"  in  your  selection  of 
equipment.  Profit  by  the  experience  of  others. 
In  this  manner  you  will  be  most  likely  to  obtain 
the  proper  tools  and  equipment  to  meet  your 
needs,  and  you  will  obtain  genuine  satisfaction 
from  your  purchases. 

Investing  in  a  Typewriter 

If  you  have  not  already  purchased  and  learned 
to  use  a  typewriter  before  beginning  your  course, 
the  sooner  you  do  so  the  better.  The  man  today 
who  does  not  know  how  to  use  the  modern  writ- 
ing machine  is  handicapping  himself,  not  only  in 
his  studies,  but  also  in  his  work  after  he  leaves 
school.  Plan  without  delay  to  make  the  neces- 
sary investment  of  time  and  money  in  order  to 
obtain  a  typewriter  and  to  learn  how  to  operate  it 
in  the  most  efficient  manner.  You  will  be  well 
repaid  for  your  pa'tience  and  :nont/  invested. 


54  TACKLING   TECH. 

The  cost  of  owning  and  maintaining  a  modern 
portable  typewriter  is  not  so  great  as  might  be 
supposed.  It  can  be  shown  that  such  a  machine 
can  be  purchased  with  money  borrowed  at  6  per 
cent,  be  cleaned  annually  and  kept  in  good  repair, 
and  after  five  or  six  years  be  replaced  by  a  new 
machine,  all  at  an  annual  cost  of  approximately 
$12.50.  This  is  less  than  3^  cents  a  day!  A 
saving  of  only  a  very  few  minutes  each  day  by 
the  efficient  use  of  a  typewriter,  therefore,  would 
more  than  repay  the  student  for  its  cost.  The 
usual  rental  charge  for  a  typewriter  is  $20  for 
eight  months.  This  is  $7.50  more  than  the  an- 
nual cost  of  owning  a  portable  machine.1 

Learning  to  Use  a  Typewriter 

In  order  to  save  time,  energy,  and  patience  by 
the  use  of  a  typewriter,  it  is  extremely  important 
that  a  student  should  learn  the  proper  method  of 
typewriting.  There  are  two  distinct  ways  of 
operating  a  typewriter :  the  scientific  method, 
called  the  "touch  system,"  and  the  unscientific 


1  Cost  of  owning  and  maintaining  a  typewriter : 

Original   cost    $50.00 

Redeemable  value  after  5  years 16.00 

Depreciation  over  5  years $35.00 

Cleaning  and  repairs  at  $2.50  annually 12.50 

Interest  on  original  investment,  6% 15.00 

Cost  over  5  years $62.50 

Annual  cost   $12.50 

$12.50  /  365  =  3  42/100  cents. 


SPECIAL   TOOLS   AND   EQUIPMENT         55 

method,    sometimes    called    the    "hunt-and-peck 
system." 

While  it  is  often  argued  by  some  that  a  com- 
bination of  these  methods  may  be  developed, 
there  is  a  clear  distinction  between  the  two.  In 
the  touch  method  of  writing  the  striking  of  the 
proper  keys  is  accomplished  by  reflex  nerve  im- 
pulses passing  between  the  brain  and  the  fingers, 
originating  largely  from  the  feeling  of  the  fin- 
gers upon  the  keys.  In  all  other  methods  of  writ- 
ing the  reflex  action  originates  to  some  extent 
from  the  eyes  also.  The  touch  method  is  there- 
fore not  only  simpler  and  more  rapid,  but  is  much 
less  tiring. 

The  Touch  Method 

It  is  not  such  a  difficult  matter  to  learn  the 
touch  method.  If  you  will  throw  your  patience 
and  determination  into  the  task,  and  attack  the 
problem  in  the  right  manner,  you  can  accomplish 
the  desired  result  without  undue  effort.  It  is 
best  when  possible  to  do  this  during  the  vacation 
months,  although  this  is  not  absolutely  necessary. 
No  matter  when  you  purchase  your  machine,  do 
not  count  on  using  it  for  your  regular  work,  or 
even  for  writing  letters,  until  two  or  three  months 
have  passed. 

Obtain  a  book  of  instructions  when  you  pur- 


56  TACKLING   TECH. 

chase  your  machine.  Follow  the  directions  for 
learning  the  touch  method.  Practice  regularly 
an  hour  each  day  if  possible.  You  will  learn 
slowly  at  first.  Use  the  chart  of  the  key-board, 
furnished  with  the  instructions,  but  never  look 
at  the  keys  themselves.  Above  all,  Never 
Hurry.  The  whole  secret  of  both  speed  and 
accuracy  in  typewriting  is  taking  plenty  of  time 
and  putting  accuracy  first. 

Mastering  the  Method 

Those  who  give  up  mastering  the  touch  system 
of  typing  because  it  is  too  tedious,  may  learn  to 
use  a  typewriter  somewhat  sooner  than  the  man 
who  persists  and  wins  out.  To  know  the  "hunt- 
and-peck"  method  is  far  better  than  to  have  no 
method  at  all.  In  the  long  run,  however,  the  man 
who  learns  the  most  efficient  method  will  far  put- 
distance  his  rival.  He  will  be  well  repaid  for  his 
greater  patience  and  extra  effort.  By  sliding 
into  the  "hunt-and-peck  system"  a  man  learns  to 
dash  off  from  15  to  25  words  per  minute.  But 
when  a  man  becomes  proficient  in  the  use  of  the 
touch  method,  he  should  be  able  to  write  from  30 
to  45  words  per  minute  with  far  less  expenditure 
of  effort.  An  experienced  typist,  even  on  a  port- 
able machine,  is  able  to  reach  as  high  as  100 
words  per  minute.    The  touch  method  is  also  the 


SPECIAL   TOOLS    AND   EQUIPMENT         57 

more  accurate  system  to  use.  In  order  to  drive 
home  the  importance  of  accuracy,  it  may  be  added 
that  an  experienced  typist  can  write  fully  25 
words  in  the  time  which  is  taken  to  correct  a 
single  error. 

Foresight  in  Learning  Typewriting 

Men  who  go  through  college  or  complete  their 
technical  courses  without  learning  to  profit  by  the 
use  of  a  typewriter  are  sooner  or  later  likely  to 
regret  their  lack  of  foresight.  The  amount  of 
writing  which  it  is  advisable  to  typewrite  in  a 
four  years'  technical  course  is  between  50,000  and 
100,000  words.2  In  addition  there  is  probably 
at  least  twice  this  amount  which  can  be  typewrit- 
ten to  advantage,  including  personal  letters,  etc. 
Work  done  in  this  way  is  of  course  much  neater, 
more  legible,  and  in  general  more  satisfactory 
than  hand-written  work.  Usually  a  student  will 
find  that  from  twenty  to  thirty  reports  or  themes 
must  be  written  each  term  during  the  third  and 
fourth  years.  When  this  becomes  true  in  your 
case  you  will  be  thankful  indeed  to  be  able  to 
perform  your  work  quickly  and  easily  on  your 
own  machine,  instead  of  having  to  write  it  la- 
boriously by  hand. 


2  Determined   by  investigation   covering   all   types  of   courses   at   the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 


58  TACKLING   TECH. 

Selecting  a  Typewriter 

Just  what  typewriter  you  should  purchase  is 
often  a  puzzling  question.  A  portable  model  is 
usually  desirable,  provided  it  meets  your  other 
requirements.  To  aid  you  in  selecting  the  best 
machine  for  your  purpose  an  analysis  has  been 
made  showing  some  of  the  considerations  to 
weigh  in  purchasing  a  machine : 


Names  of  Machines 

Qualifications  Weighting 

*  (Example)  - 



Durability    

18 

10 

Standard  key-board .... 

18 

15 

Performance   

18 

15 

Price    

12 

10 

Convenience  and  access- 

ibility of  parts 

8 

6 

Visibility  of  writing. . . 

8 

8 

Characters  available. . . . 

6 

5 

. . .             ....             .... 

Weight  and  dimensions. 

6 

4 

...             ....             . . . . 

Repairs  and  other  serv- 

ices by  the  company.. 

6 

5 

Totals 

100 

78 

*  The  numbers  shown  here  may  be  varied  so  as  to  represent  the 
taste  or  needs  of  any  prospective  purchaser. 

Using  the  Slide  Rule 

The  use  of  a  slide  rule  is  now  so  common  in 
nearly  every  technical  institution  that  practically 
every  student  adds  one  of  these  instruments  to 
his  equipment  before  he  completes  his  first  year. 
This  step  can  scarcely  be  taken  too  soon.  From 
the  very  first  the  slide  rule  is  likely  to  prove  ex- 
tremely useful. 


SPECIAL  TOOLS   AND   EQUIPMENT         59 

There  is  nothing  really  difficult  about  using  a 
slide  rule,  though  practice  is  necessary  to  gain 
speed  and  accuracy  in  complicated  calculations. 
The  principle  upon  which  the  instrument  operates 
is  simply  the  multiplication  or  division  of  two  or 
more  numbers  by  the  addition  or  subtraction  of 
their  corresponding  logarithms.  Since  the  figures 
on  the  slide  rule  measure  off  logarithmic  distances, 
the  addition  or  subtraction  of  these  distances  by 
placing  them  side  by  side  accomplishes  multipi- 
cation  or  division  of  the  numbers.  Long  series  of 
computations  can  be  quickly  and  easily  worked 
through  on  the  slide  rule,  with  only  a  few  simple 
movements  of  the  center  scale  and  slider. 

A  few  suggestions  on  use  of  the  slide  rule  are : 

1.  Obtain  a  book  of  instructions  and  read  through 
the  suggestions  for  handling  particular  types  of  prob- 
lems. Practice  the  easiest  ways  of  performing  the 
necessary  operations  for  each  type,  until  the  correct 
method  becomes  a  habit. 

2.  Learn  to  apply  your  common  sense  to  the  problem 
in  hand,  as,  for  example,  in  determining  the  position 
of  the  decimal  point.  Often  the  easiest  way  to  do  this 
is  to  point  off  the  answer  by  a  rapid  mental  calculation, 
which  will  also  furnish  a  check  upon  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  answer. 

3.  Learn  to  perform  every  type  of  calculation  with 
the  least  possible  number  of  movements.  If  the  in- 
verted or  split  scales  are  on  the  rule,  use  should  be 
made  of  them  from  the  very  first. 


60  TACKLING   TECH. 

A  Sample  Calculation  on  the  Slide  Rule 

Students  will  often  purchase  a  slide  rule  and 
use  it  for  a  year  or  more  without  ever  learning 
to  profit  by  many  of  its  labor-saving  devices.  In 
fact,  there  are  many  very  simple  operations  on 
even  the  ordinary  slide  rule  which  only  need  to 
be  described  to  be  appreciated,  but  which  are  used 
by  very  few  students.  An  example  of  a  problem 
which  is  somewhat  troublesome  if  handled  in  the 
ordinary  way,  but  which  can  be  accomplished 
with  only  four  settings  and  three  readings  of  the 
rule,  is  given  below. 

Divide  each  of  three  (or  more)  numbers,  876,  575, 
and  143,  for  example,  by  their  sum,  1,594,  and  deter- 
mine what  percentage  each  number  is  of  this  sum. 

A  simple  solution  of  this  problem  can  be  ef- 
fected in  this  way : 

1.  Place  slider  over  1,594  on  bottom  scale — Scale 
No.  A. 

2.  Move  scale  immediately  above  (Scale  No.  B)  so 
that  876  is  above  1,594.  At  the  left  above  1  on  A  scale, 
scale  read  54.9%  on  the  B  scale.    Answer  No.  1. 

3.  Move  B  scale  to  the  right  till  575  is  above  1,594. 
Above  1  on  the  left  read  36.1%.    Answer  No.  2. 

4.  Move  B  scale  to  the  right  till  143  is  above  1,594. 
On  the  right  above  1  on  the  A  scale  read  8.96%. 
Answer  No.  j. 

Work  the  above  problem  through  in  order  to 
make  sure  you  have  grasped  the  simple  principle 


SPECIAL   TOOLS   AND    EQUIPMENT         61 

involved.  The  reciprocal  method  furnishes  an- 
other way  of  solving  this  type  of  problem,  but 
the  procedure  given  above  is  usually  the  more 
satisfactory. 

Selecting  a  Slide  Rule 

The  polyphase  type  of  slide  rule  is  probably  the 
most  satisfactory  instrument  for  general  use.  In 
a  series  of  inquiries  among  men  of  various  engi- 
neering courses  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  60  per  cent  of  the  students  used 
polyphase  rules.  This  is  probably  true  in  other 
similar  schools  also.  Ten  per  cent  of  the  students 
used  the  simplest  type  of  Mannheim  rule  and  ap- 
proximately the  same  number  used  "log  log" 
rules.  The  remaining  students  had  purchased 
polyphase  duplex  rules  and  others  of  special 
types.  While  many  men  have  special  preferences 
for  various  types  of  slide  rules,  and  while  certain 
work  can,  of  course,  only  be  done  on  special 
rules,  the  polyphase  will  probably  meet  all  ordi- 
nary requirements. 

A  Pocket  Memorandum 

At  times  during  your  course  the  number  of 
"little  things"  which  you  must  keep  in  mind  will 
be  large,  provided  you  work  at  full  capacity.  You 
cannot  do  your  best  in  handling  a  complex  prob- 


62  TACKLING   TECH. 

lem  if  you  try  to  keep  all  the  details  in  your  head. 
A  suitable  system  of  memoranda  will  aid  you 
greatly  here.  "Keep  the  little  things  on  paper 
and  the  big  ones  in  your  head." 

Every  man  has  his  own  pet  system  of  pocket 
reminder.  If  you  have  not  already  adopted  a 
system,  however,  there  is  one  which  is  fairly 
standard  and  which  satisfies  the  needs  of  the  av- 
erage student  very  well.  This  system  is  called 
"Memindex."3  The  little  black  booklet  carried 
in  your  coat  or  vest  pocket  is  convenient.  Daily 
cards  will  remind  you  of  your  special  errands 
and  appointments  for  the  day.  In  the  other  sec- 
tion of  the  book  you  can  keep  separate  cards  for 
important  personal  problems,  and  for  recording 
ideas.  Many  students  find  these  convenient  also 
for  lesson  assignments.  A  few  blank  cards  give 
an  emergency  note-taking  equipment  which  is  al- 
ways ready  for  use.  In  many  different  ways, 
with  judicious  use,  Memindex  or  other  similar 
systems  of  memoranda  will  help  you  to  "plan 
your  work  and  work  your  plan." 

A  Practical  Card  File 

A  second  part  of  Memindex,  or  of  any  com- 
plete memorandum  equipment,  is  the  card  file 
for  your  desk.     This  usually  consists  of  a  box 

8  Wilson  Memindex  Co.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


SPECIAL  TOOLS   AND   EQUIPMENT         63 

containing  one  or  more  alphabetical  indexes,  in 
addition  to  the  spare  cards  for  the  pocket  memo- 
book.  Such  a  card  file  is  useful  for  preserving 
miscellaneous  information  and  special  material 
which  must  be  kept  compactly  and  referred  to 
from  time  to  time. 

Unless  one  is  most  careful,  an  alphabetical  ar- 
rangement may  prove  to  be  a  greater  hindrance 
than  a  help.  At  times  the  indexes  nd  subindexes 
in  a  small  desk  file  may  become  so  confused  that 
it  is  quite  impossible  to  find  what  is  wanted. 
Bothering  with  complicated  filing  methods  is 
usually  a  waste  of  time. 

The  simple  method  which  I  finally  used  may 
help  you  to  reach  quickly  a  satisfactory  solution 
of  your  own  particular  problem.  This  consisted 
simply  in  typing  ten  or  a  dozen  prominent  tabs 
to  slip  into  the  main  alphabetical  index  in  their 
proper  places.  On  each  of  these  tabs  was  the.  title 
of  an  important  section  of  work  or  activities, 
such  as  "Fraternity"  or  "Junior  Prom  Com- 
mittee." Whenever  the  number  of  cards  behind 
one  of  the  main  tabs  became  inconveniently  large, 
a  redivision  was  made.  To  do  this  the  cards 
were  sorted,  the  worthless  ones  thrown  out,  and 
those  remaining  divided  by  means  of  two  or  three 
smaller  tabs  of  a  different  color.  For  example, 
behind  the  yellow  tab  reading  "Fraternity"  there 


64  TACKLING   TECH. 

soon  appeared  two  white  tabs  which  read  "House 
Manager"  and  "Rushing."  The  theoretical  flaws 
in  such  a  method  are  all  too  obvious.  In  actual 
practice,  however,  I  found  the  scheme  required 
very  little  time  to  maintain,  and  on  the  whole 
worked  satisfactorily. 

Miscellaneous  Equipment 

In  addition  to  the  special  tools  mentioned 
above,  every  student  who  desires  to  be  efficient 
in  his  work  should  supply  himself  with  other  mis- 
cellaneous articles  of  equipment.  A  number  of 
these  are  mentioned  below.  Check  over  the  list 
to  see  how  many  of  the  articles  mentioned  you 
already  have,  and  give  thought  as  to  how  many 
of  the  others  you  might  obtain  to  advantage. 

Pencils  and  pens  Rubber    stamps    for    name, 

Ink  (black,  india,  red,  etc.)  addresses,  etc. 

Blotters  Scissors 

Pen-wiper  Colored  pencils 

Ruler  Pencil-sharpener 

Erasers  Library  paste  and  glue 

Razor    blades    (for    cutting  Drawing  instruments 

paper)  Stationery 

Clips   (several  kinds)  Scratch-paper 

Rubber  bands  Memo  paper 

Twine  Graph  paper,  and  other  spe- 
Letter-opener  cial  kinds 

Flat  desk  file   (work-organ-  Paper  punch 

izer)  Book-holders 

Letter  files  Desk  calendar 


SPECIAL   TOOLS   AND   EQUIPMENT         65 

Bibliography 
Clark,  J.  J.    Slide  Rule. 
Collins,  C.  D.    Drafting  Room  Methods. 
Gowin,  E.  B.    Developing  Executive  Ability. 
McClellan,     R.     Stenographer's     Manual.       (Niagara 

Falls,  Wahl  Printing  and  Binding  Co.)     History 

and  Care  of  Typewriters. 
Pickworth,  C.  N.    Slide  Rule. 
Richardson,  G.  W.    Slide  Rule  Simplified. 
Manuals  of  Typewriter  Companies. 


CHAPTER  VI 

HOW  TO  PASS  EXAMS. 

There  is  only  one  road  to  the  town  of  "Success," 
The  name  of  the  road  is  "Work" 

— Dale  Newell  Carter 

Common  Sense  Methods 

There  is  no  royal  road  leading  to  the  passing 
of  examinations.  Nevertheless  there  are  certain 
principles  underlying  one's  preparation,  one's 
mental  attitude,  and  one's  physical  condition 
which  should  be  mastered,  and  when  these  are 
rigorously  applied  the  results  will  often  be  sur- 
prisingly good. 

The  first  principle  is  to  study  consistently  and 
thoroughly  your  subjects  throughout  the  term. 
This  sounds  like  "old  stuff,"  but  it  is  most  sen- 
sible advice. 

Proper  Use  of  Textbooks 

In  order  to  study  properly  for  most  courses 
you  must  purchase  for  your  own  use  the  books 
required.  It  is  poor  policy  to  "go  halves"  with 
another  fellow  on  books  which  are  worth  buying 
at  all.  It  is  even  poorer  policy  to  borrow  them. 
Purchase  your  own  books  and  mark  them  up  all 

66 


HOW    PASS   EXAMS.  67 

you  wish,  so  as  to  have  them  always  handy  for 
review  or  reference. 

Proper  Use  of  Notes 

The  same  advice  applies  to  notes.  These  writ- 
ten records  of  the  course  are  your  own  expres- 
sions of  the  knowledge  which  it  holds  for  you. 
They  are  a  textbook  of  which  you  yourself  are 
the  author,  and  as  such  you  should  make  good 
use  of  them.     (See  Chapter  IV.) 

I  recall  the  case  of  a  friend  who  made  remark- 
ably good  use  of  his  notes  in  a  certain  engineering 
course.  The  course  was  of  such  a  nature  that 
there  were  no  textbooks,  and  most  of  the  mate- 
rial was  presented  in  the  form  of  lectures.  To 
my  friend  the  subject  matter  which  he  was  sup- 
posed to  understand  was  for  the  first  two  months 
almost  a  complete  mystery.  Through  sheer  des- 
peration, however,  he  took  all  the  notes  possible, 
although  for  the  most  part  they  were  meaning- 
less. Toward  the  end  of  the  term,  however,  he 
began  to  see  some  light.  By  going  back  over  his 
notes  carefully  the  whole  course  cleared  in  his 
mind.  He  surprised  himself  by  achieving  the 
mark  of  "Credit"  on  the  final  examination. 

Making  Up  Back  Work 

During  exam,  time  everyone  works  under  high 
pressure.       A  man  may  be  lazy  at  other  times 


I 

68  TACKLING  TECH. 

throughout  the  year,  but  not  then !  Whether  the 
examinations  to  be  tried  are  entrance,  conditions, 
or  finals,  there  is  usually  too  much  at  stake  for 
a  man  to  loaf.  He  is  willing  to  do  almost  any- 
thing at  this  time  that  will  help  him  to  pass. 

If  everyone  approached  the  time  of  examina- 
tion with  work  brought  up  to  date,  there  would 
be  little  need  of  this  chapter.  But  no  one  ever 
does!  At  least,  the  majority  of  fellows  do  not, 
and  these  are  the  ones  who  need  help  most. 

I  recently  assisted  in  lining  up  an  examination 
week  for  a  man  who  estimated  that  he  had  an 
average  of  five  hours'  make-up  work  for  each  of 
the  eight  subjects  he  was  taking!  In  addition 
to  this  he  estimated  that  it  would  require  forty- 
five  hours  to  review  for  his  eight  examinations. 
His  case  was  perhaps  not  typical,  for  he  was  on 
the  verge  of  flunking.  Nevertheless,  many  men 
find  their  work  in  a  discouraging  state  at  the  time 
of  examinations. 

Preparation  by  Tutoring 

Tutoring  gives  a  student  close  personal  contact 
with  the  instructor.  It  practically  assures  a  much 
more  thorough  understanding  of  the  work  than 
can  otherwise  be  obtained.  For  this  reason  it  is 
exceptionally  valuable.  It  should  be  utilized  not 
only  for  the  purpose  of  passing  an  examination 


HOW   PASS   EXAMS.  69 

but  also  to  grasp  the  underlying  principles  of  a 
difficult  subject.  In  cases  where  a  student  takes 
care  to  keep  both  of  these  ends  in  mind,  tutoring 
with  a  competent  instructor  should  bring  excel- 
lent results. 

When  it  is  a  question  of  flunking  or  of  passing 
a  subject,  the  additional  expense  of  tutoring 
should  not  be  considered  as  an  extravagance  by 
either  the  student  or  his  parents.  The  amount 
of  such  expense  for  a  particular  subject  rarely 
exceeds  $20.  While  this  may  look  very  large 
compared  to  the  amount  of  tuition  alone,  it  is 
probably  less  than  one-fiftieth  of  the  year's  entire 
investment  in  the  subject.1  When  the  impor- 
tance of  understanding  the  work  and  of  maintain- 
ing a  clear  record  is  realized,  such  an  addition  to 
the  year's  investment  may  well  be  considered 
worth  while. 

Reviewing  in  Discussion  Groups 

The  possibility  of  "brushing  up"  for  exams,  by 
combining  the  resources  of  several  men  in  a  dis- 
cussion group  should  always  be  kept  in  mind. 
This  is  applicable  to  only  certain  types  of  work, 
but  in  these  it  is  likely  to  be  more  valuable  than 
any  other  form  of  review. 


1  See  Chapter  XII,   "A   Technical  Education  as  a  Business  Invest- 
ment." 


jo  TACKLING   TECH. 

When  arranging  for  a  discussion  group,  there 
are  two  points  which  it  is  well  to  remember. 
First,  make  sure  that  each  man  brings  with  him 
all  the  material  and  information  that  he  has  col- 
lected. Second,  have  the  size  of  the  group  suited 
to  the  work  which  is  to  be  done.  Three  men 
usually  form  an  effective  combination,  although 
the  number  will  vary  with  different  subjects  to 
be  studied.  If  the  group  is  too  large,  time  is 
likely  to  be  wasted  and  many  will  not  take  part 
in  the  discussion  at  all.  When  possible  a  compe- 
tent leader  should  be  in  charge. 

Planning  an  Exam.  Week 

No  matter  whether  you  are  behind  in  your 
work,  or  whether  you  expect  to  pass  your  exami- 
nations without  the  slightest  difficulty,  you  will 
do  well  to  give  heed  to  planning  your  exam, 
week.  Make  the  most  of  the  time  you  have  in 
order  to  cover  your  work  to  the  best  advantage. 
There  is  a  science  as  well  as  an  art  to  the  passing 
of  exams. 

Let  us  suppose  that  you  are  confronted  at  this 
time  with  the  problem  of  laying  out  a  more  or 
less  troublesome  exam,  week  schedule.  Below 
is  a  method  which  has  stood  the  test  of  actual 
practice.  You  will  find  it  applicable  not  only  to 
examination  week  but  to  many  other  occasions 


HOW   PASS   EXAMS.  71 

when  you  must  do  a  certain  amount  of  work 
within  a  given  time. 

A  Method  Which  Works 

First,  on  a  sheet  of  &l/2  x  1 1  paper,  make  out  a 
list  of  what  you  have  to  do  (Figure  3).  This 
should  be  done,  and  in  fact  your  whole  exam, 
week  planned,  several  days  before  exams,  act- 
ually start.  Youf  list  of  tasks  will  look  some- 
thing like  this : 


WORK  TO  BE  DONE 

1 Hours \ 

1st  Estimate  Revised 

Subject  A  Back  Work 9  6 

Subject  B  Back  Work 4  2 

Subject  D  Preparation  for  Exam..         4  4 

Subject  E  Preparation  for  Exam..        8  6 

Etc etc.  etc. 

Totals    81  42^ 


Figure  3.     Program  of  Work  for  Examination  Week 

Notice  that  you  have  two  columns  at  the  right, 
one  for  the  first  estimate  and  a  second  for  the  re- 
vised time.  Fill  in  only  the  first  estimate  now. 
Put  the  hours  down  in  this  column  which  you 
actually  believe  you  will  spend  in  doing  the  work 
reasonably  well. 

Next,  lay  out  on  other  similar  sheets  (or  on  a 


72  TACKLING   TECH. 

standard  schedule  card)  all  the  hours  which  you 
have  available  during  the  examination  period. 
Right  here  is  where  the  "art"  comes  in.  Do  not 
Ull  in  too  much  of  your  time  for  study. 

Exercise  and  Recreation 

The  sort  of  work  which  is  required  of  you  dur- 
ing examinations  is  different  from  the  regular 
routine.  You  must  make  allowance  for  this. 
Give  yourself  at  least  an  extra  half-hour  of  sleep 
each  night.  Do  not  study  more  than  two  hours 
and  a  half  at  a  stretch.  Get  some  exercise  and 
recreation  every  day.  Follow  these  suggestions 
to  the  letter  and  you  will  be  surprised  at  the  dif- 
ference in  results. 


EXAM.  WEEK  SCHEDULE 

TIME  AVAILABLE 

THURSDAY 

Study 

7:30 

Up  (plenty  of  time  for  breakfast) 

9-12 

Exam.    Subject  A 

12-2 

Lunch  and  outdoor  recreation 

2-3 130 

Study 

t% 

3 :30-5 

Study 

t& 

5-8:30 

Early  dinner  and  movies 

8:30-10:30 

Study 

2 

11 

Bed 

Total 

for  Day 

••     5 

Figure  4.     (a)  Time  Available  Sheet  for  One  Day  in 
Examination  Week 


HOW    PASS   EXAMS.  73 

Figure  4a  is  a  day  from  an  actual  Time 
Available  Sheet,  made  out  for  a  day  during  exam, 
week.  Study  this  over  carefully  and  make  your 
own  out  similarly. 

Making  Ends  Meet 

When  you  have  made  out  a  chart  showing 
your  plan  of  work  and  recreation  from  the  time 
reviewing  begins  until  examinations  are  over, 
you  are  ready  for  the  next  step.  This  is  to  add  up 
your  total  time  available  and  compare  it  with 
the  number  of  hours'  work  you  have  to  do.  Be 
sure  to  carry  this  out  as  suggested.  It  will  give 
you  an  excellent  idea  of  what  you  are  really  "up 
against." 

Next  begin  to  pare  down  the  hours  of  work 
that  you  will  actually  give  to  each  subject.  You 
will  find  it  possible  to  cut  off  an  hour  or  so  here, 
and  eliminate  a  task  which  is  not  essential  there. 
No  matter  how  seriously  you  have  to  cut  down 
the  hours  of  preparation,  you  must  make  the 
"hours  available"  equal  to  the  "hours  of  work  to 
be  done."  You  are  making  the  best  possible  use 
of  your  time,  and  that  is  all  that  you  can  do. 

In  planning  your  work  make  up  your  mind 
that  you  are  going  to  apply  yourself  as  diligently 
on  the  review  as  you  do  in  an  exam.  There  will 
be  few  interruptions  at  this  time.     An  hour's 


74  TACKLING   TECH. 

studying,  therefore,  means  an  actual  hour  of 
work,  and  you  should  be  able  to  do  more  in  this 
hour  than  you  usually  can  in  an  hour  and  a  half. 

Deciding  When  to  Study  for  Each  Exam. 

There  is  one  more  step,  which  is  sometimes  the 
hardest  of  all.  It  may  take  you  an  hour  or  two 
to  shift  the  periods  of  study  for  particular  sub- 
jects so  that  the  work  will  be  done  on  time. 
Never  mind  how  much  reviewing  you  might  do 
in  these  two  hours.  It  will  be  worth  your  while 
to  spend  this  time  and  plan  your  week  with  care. 

By  first  determining  the  length  of  time  you 
are  to  study  on  any  particular  subject,  you  made 
it  much  easier  to  decide  when  you  should  do  the 
studying.  Let  us  say,  for  example,  that  your 
third  examination  is  Physics,  on  Wednesday.  If 
you  have  made  out  no  plan  of  work,  it  will  be 
difficult  to  decide  just  when  you  may  best  study 
for  this.  By  planning  your  work,  however,  you 
determine  definitely  that  you  can  afford  to  put 
eight  hours  on  the  review  of  Physics.  Further- 
more, you  know  very  nearly  the  exact  hours  be- 
tween Monday  and  Wednesday  which  you  have 
available  for  study.  It  is  not  nearly  so  difficult 
now  to  decide  just  which  times  are  the  best. 
Figure  4b  shows  a  Time  Available  Sheet  which 
has  been  completely  filled  in. 


HOW    PASS    EXAMS.  75 


EXAM.  WEEK  SCHEDULE 

TIME  AVAILABLE 

THURSDAY 

Study 

7:30 

Up  (plenty  of  time  for  breakfast) 

9-12 

Exam.    Subject  A 

12-2 

Lunch  and  outdoor  recreation 

2.-2,  ISO 

Study.     Subject  D 

iy2 

3  -30-5 

Study.    Subject  E 

154 

5-8:30 

Early  dinner  and  movies 

8:30-10 

•  30 

Study.     Subject  B 

2 

11 

Bed 

Total 

for  Day 

..  5 

Figure  4.     (b)   Time  Available  Sheet  Completely  Filled  In 

Various  Methods 

When  actually  arranging  the  times  to  study 
particular  subjects,  many  fellows  find  it  helpful 
to  give  their  most  difficult  subjects  preference. 
It  is  usually  best,  however,  not  to  study  any  sub- 
ject too  near  the  time  when  the  examination  must 
be  tried.  A  good  rule  is  either  to  drop  work  en- 
tirely or  to  change  to  some  other  subject  several 
hours  before  the  test  is  started.  Cramming  in  a 
few  minor  details  at  the  last  minute  rarely  helps 
you  to  pass. 

There  are  men  in  every  class  and  in  every 
school  whom  no  amount  of  coaching  at  exam, 
time  can  save  from  flunking — nor  should  it.  But 
every  fellow  owes  it  to  himself  to  fight  until  the 


j6  TACKLING   TECH. 

last  and  to  do  his  best,  no  matter  how  far  behind 
he  may  be.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  you 
are  excellent  or  poor  in  your  studies,  the  method 
outlined  above  will  help  you  to  win. 

Summary 

The  procedure  suggested  in  this  chapter  dif- 
fers from  that  of  the  fellow  who  tries  to  study 
until  2  a.  m.  before  an  examination  and  never 
looks  ahead  more  than  two  days  in  his  work.  It 
means  putting  yourself  both  physically  and  men- 
tally in  condition  for  an  exam.,  and  this  is  what 
really  counts.  In  a  technical  course  it  is  essential 
that  you  review  your  subjects.  You  can  do  this 
best  by  hard  concentrated  effort.  But  to  pass  a 
difficult  exam,  you  need  also  to  be  "in  trim"  and 
"feeling  fit."  It  is  the  man  who,  through  good 
judgment  and  careful  planning,  can  strike  a  bal- 
ance, and  achieve  both  of  these  aims,  who  will 
win  out  in  the  long  run.  Later  he  will  be  able  to 
open  the  terrifying  envelope  and  find  that  he  has 
passed. 

Bibliography 

Blair,  F.  G.  Study  and  Use  of  Books.  (National  Edu- 
cational Association.    Proceedings,  1909,  p.  852-59.) 

Dearborn,  G.  V.  N.    How  to  Learn  Easily. 

Dillingham,  J.  D.  Study  Clinics.  (School  Review. 
Vol.  29,  Jan.  1921,  p.  15-16.) 


HOW    PASS   EXAMS. 


77 


Germane,  C.  E.  Value  of  the  Corrected  Summary  as 
Compared  with  Re-reading  the  same  Article.  (Ele- 
mentary School  Journal.  Vol.  21,  Feb.  1921,  p. 
461-64.) 

Value  of  the  Controlled  Summary  as  a  Method 

of   Study.      (School   &    Society.     Vol.    13,    1921, 
p.  730-32.) 
-Value  of  the  Controlled  Mental  Summary  as  a 


Method  of  Studying.      (School  &  Society.     Vol. 

12,  1920,  p.  591-93.) 
Lull,     H.     C.      A    University    How-to-Study     Class. 

(School  &  Society.    Vol.  4,  1916,  p.  961-62.) 
Whipple,  G.  M.     How  to  Study  Effectively. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HEALTH  AND  ENERGY1 

He  who  half  breathes,  half  lives. — Sanskrit  Writer 

Maintaining  Sound  Health 

Of  all  the  factors  which  go  for  making  a  suc- 
cess or  failure,  not  only  in  your  college  work  but 
in  later  life,  health  is  probably  the  most  important. 
While  you  are  spending  four  years  in  obtaining 
your  college  or  technical  education,  establish 
firmly  the  habit  of  putting  your  health  first. 

There  are  continuous  calls  for  every  ambitious 
man  to  overburden  himself  and  cut  the  corners 
here  and  there  in  giving  his  body  its  proper 
amount  of  care.  To  neglect  these  matters  in 
college  means  to  neglect  them  through  life. 
Sooner  or  later — and  quite  likely  it  will  be  be- 
fore you  complete  your  four  years'  course — you 
will  pay  the  penalty  that  may  be  lasting. 

Getting  Sufficient  Sleep 

First  of  all  a  student  should  get  the  proper 
amount  of  sleep.  While  individuals  vary,  there 
are  very  few  men  of  college  age  who  can  do  their 


1  In  preparing  this  chapter  the  author  is  indebted  to  Dr.  George  W. 
Morse  and  Mr.  Frank  M.   Kanaly  for  valuable  suggestions. 


78 


HEALTH   AND   ENERGY  79 

best  work  on  less  than  seven  or  eight  hours  of 
sleep.  There  are  even  fewer  men  who  need  more 
than  eight  hours. 

A  refreshing  sleep  will  enable  you  to  grasp  a 
particular  subject  or  the  underlying  principles  of 
a  problem  far  more  easily,  for  then  you  can  act- 
ually tackle  your  jobs,  instead  of  allowing  them 
to  push  you.  There  is  nothing  more  conducive  to 
developing  your  self-reliance  and  your  initiative, 
or  to  advancing  you  steadily  in  your  work,  than 
to  get  regularly  the  amount  of  sleep  which  you 
require. 

The  best  plan  is  to  get  eight  hours  of  sleep 
each  night.  Do  not  cut  the  corners,  especially 
during  your  first  two  years.  While  you  are  a 
freshman  and  a  sophomore  establish  the  habit  of 
going  to  bed  promptly.  The  less  you  deviate 
from  this  policy  thereafter  the  better. 

Some  students  have  difficulty  in  sleeping  even 
though  they  go  to  bed.  After  an  evening  of 
study  some  light  exercise  will  greatly  relieve  men- 
tal strain.  The  use  of  warm  light-weight  bed 
clothing  is  to  be  highly  recommended.  Good 
health,  sufficient  outdoor  exercise,  moderate 
fatigue,  and  a  will  to  keep  your  mind  off  the  prob- 
lems of  yourself  and  your  work  after  going  to 
bed,  are  the  most  effective  antidotes  for  sleepless- 
ness. 


80  TACKLING   TECH. 

The  Gospel  of  Relaxation 

In  addition  to  obtaining  sufficient  sleep  as  a 
means  of  keeping  your  fatigue  factor  low,  fol- 
low the  "Gospel  of  Relaxation/'  Read  the  excel- 
lent little  booklet  by  Dr.  William  James,  "On 
Vital  Reserves,"  and  put  his  "Gospel"  into  prac- 
tice. In  discussing  several  good  points  in  regard 
to  "Yankee  Inefficiency,"  Professor  James  says : 

We  say  that  so  many  of  our  fellow-countrymen  col- 
lapse, and  have  to  be  sent  abroad  to  rest  their  nerves, 
because  they  work  so  hard.  I  suspect  that  this  is  an 
immense  mistake.  I  suspect  that  neither  the  nature 
nor  the  amount  of  our  work  is  accountable  for  the 
frequency  and  severity  of  our  breakdowns,  but  that 
their  cause  lies  rather  in  those  absurd  feelings  of  hurry 
and  having  no  time,  in  that  breathlessness  and  tension, 
that  anxiety  of  feature  and  that  solicitude  for  results, 
that  lack  of  inner  harmony  and  ease,  in  short,  by  which 
with  us  the  work  is  so  apt  to  be  accompanied,  and 
from  which  a  European  who  should  do  the  same  work 
would  nine  times  out  of  ten  be  free. 

Plan  your  work  during  the  day  so  that  you 
will  have  your  "daily  vacations"  as  well  as  your 
week-end  good  times.  Relax  now  and  then  dur- 
ing an  evening  of  study,  perhaps  by  boxing  or 
wrestling,  or  by  taking  a  run  around  the  block. 
Break  off  from  your  study  before  you  become  too 
tired,  and  rest  for  five  minutes  by  chatting  with 
the  fellows,  before  you  take  up  the  next  job. 


HEALTH   AND   ENERGY  8l 

When  you  do  desist  from  your  work  at  all,  drop 
it  entirely.  The  ability  to  carry  heavy  loads,  but 
not  to  worry  about  them  except  at  the  proper 
time,  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  assets.2 

Importance  of  Physical  Exercise 

Next  in  importance  to  sleep  is  physical  exer- 
cise. From  my  own  experience  and  observation 
I  believe  that  in  some  respects  a  certain  amount 
of  exercise  is  of  even  greater  importance  than 
plenty  of  sleep.  When  your  body  is  full  of 
fatigue  poisons  you  will  be  surprised  at  the  imme- 
diate improvement  resulting  from  a  thorough 
physical  workout.  The  fellow  who  is  not  get- 
ting a  reasonable  amount  of  exercise  daily  is 
fatally  handicapping  himself. 

Effects  of  Lack  of  Exercise 

It  is  very  safe  to  say  that  lack  of  exercise  is 
the  cause  of  far  more  of  both  your  physical  and 
mental  weariness  than  you  imagine.  If  you  feel 
"sour"  at  times  and  disgusted  with  life  in  gen- 
eral; if  you  lack  the  ambition  or  the  energy  to 
tackle  your  work  from  day  to  day;  if  you  are 
troubled  with  a  stuffy  feeling  in  your  head  or  a 
dull  ache;  or  if  you  are  just  naturally  going 


3  Dr.  George  L.  Walton's  Book,  "Why  Worry?"  is  one  of  the  best 
to  read  on  this  subject. 


82  TACKLING   TECH. 

"stale"  on  the  job — try  getting  some  exercise 
and  see  what  a  difference  it  will  make.  There  is 
no  better  all-round  doctor  than  Mother  Nature, 
and  exercise  is  her  best  medicine. 

Finding  Time  for  Exercise 

The  problem  which  bothers  everyone  in  regard 
to  getting  sufficient  exercise  is  how  to  find  the 
time  for  it.  The  answer  is,  take  the  time.  Put 
it  on  your  schedule.  First,  set  aside  a  certain 
amount  of  time  for  exercise  in  general.  Second, 
apportion  this  to  the  various  kinds  of  exercise, 
in  such  a  way  that  you  will  get  the  maximum 
benefit  and  satisfy  your  individual  needs. 

In  general  most  kinds  of  exercise  may  be 
grouped  in  two  classes  or  types.  These  are  home 
and  personal  exercises  (including  walking, 
morning  and  evening  exercises,  etc.)  and  other 
forms,  such  as  games,  sports,  and  gymnasium 
work.  Do  not  confine  yourself  to  one  of  these 
types  of  exercise,  but  use  both  to  keep  your  body 
in  proper  condition. 

What  Exercise  to  Take — Walking 

Time  spent  in  walking  to  and  from  school  is 
not  a  loss,  provided  one  makes  the  most  of  it.  If 
done  correctly,  walking  is  one  of  the  very  best 
forms  of  exercise.     A  noted  French  physician 


HEALTH   AND   ENERGY  83 

has  proclaimed  that  merely  by  walking  on  the 
balls  of  the  feet  (partially  on  tip-toe)  during  the 
course  of  the  day  one  can  correct  many  physical 
defects  and  keep  oneself  in  good  condition. 
Many  students  who  have  spent  as  much  as  an 
hour  a  day  for  several  years  walking  to  and  from 
school,  feel  sure  that  they  have  gained  more  than 
they  have  lost  from  the  added  expenditure  of  time 
and  energy. 

Home  Exercises 

Exercises  which  can  be  taken  in  your  room 
need  not  consume  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  min- 
utes a  day.  There  are  many  different  methods 
which  are  good.  If  you  are  fortunate  enough  to 
have  a  phonograph  available,  probably  nothing 
can  be  better  than  the  exercise  records  which  may 
now  be  purchased.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 
Frank  Kanaly,  who  has  for  several  years  been 
Athletic  Director  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology,  there  are  given  here  some  simple 
but  thoroughly  practical  exercises.  Make  use  of 
these  regularly  morning  and  night.  They  will 
aid  you  to  keep  in  first  class  condition. 

First  Exercise — Abdominal  Muscles 

From  a  starting-  position  of  standing  with  legs  spread 
about  two  feet  apart  and  arms  extended  forward  hori- 
zontally : 


84  TACKLING   TECH. 

Count  i.  Bend  trunk  forward  and  swing  arms  down- 
ward between  legs.     (Do  not  bend  at  the  knees.) 

Count  2.  Raise  the  trunk  and  swing  arms  horizon- 
tally to  the  left. 

Count  3.     Again  swing  downward  between  legs. 

Count  4.     Swing  arms  horizontally  to  the  right. 

Repeating  to  include  32  counts. 
Second  Exercise — Intestinal  Tract 

From  the  starting  position  of  lying  on  the  back  with 
hands  clasped  under  the  head  and  legs  raised  vertically : 

Counts  1  and  2.  Bend  the  knees  and  make  contin- 
uous foot  circles  of  about  18  inches  in  diameter. 

Repeating   to    include    16    counts.      (While    resting 
after    this    exercise,    massage    the    abdominal    region, 
using  a  circular  movement  of  the  hands.) 
Deep  Breathing  Exercise 

From  a  starting  position  of  standing  with  legs  to- 
gether and  arms  at  sides : 

Count  1.  Inhale  deeply,  raising  arms  upward  at 
sides  until  overhead. 

Count  2.     Exhale,  lowering  arms  to  side. 

Count  3.  Inhale  deeply,  raising  arms  upward  in 
front  of  body  until  overhead. 

Count  4.     Exhale,  lowering  arms  to  side. 

Count  5.  Arms  bent  at  elbows  and  extend  forward 
on  level  with  shoulders.  Inhale  deeply,  drawing  elbows 
well  back. 

Count  6.     Exhale.    "Pat  it  out"  with  the  hands. 
Third  Exercise — Liver-Squeezer 

From  starting  position  of  standing  with  legs  and  feet 
close  together,  and  arms  extended  above  the  head  with 
fingers  clasped: 


HEALTH   AND   ENERGY  85 

Count  1.     Bend  the  trunk  to  the  left. 

Count  2.     Return  to  erect  position. 

Count  j.     Bend  the  trunk  to  the  right. 

Count  4.     Return  to  standing  position. 

Repeating  to  include  16  counts. 
Fourth  Exercise — Trunk,  Arms,  and  Legs 

From  the  starting  position  of  lying  on  the  back  with 
hands  at  the  sides : 

Count  1.  Raise  the  trunk  to  vertical  position  and 
touch  the  toes  with  the  hands,  arms  extended. 

Count  2.     Return  to  starting  position. 

Repeat  deep  breathing  exercise. 
Fifth  Exercise — Legs,  Trunk,  and  Arms 

From  the  starting  position  of  standing  with  legs 
spread  about  two  feet  apart,  and  arms  raised  overhead 
and  parallel: 

Count  1.  Full  bend  of  trunk  forward  and  down- 
ward, at  the  same  time  swinging  the  arms  between  the 
legs  as  far  back  as  possible. 

Count  2.     Return  to  starting  position. 

Repeating  to  include  16  counts. 

Repeat  deep  breathing  exercise. 
Sixth  Exercise — Back,  Arms,  and  Legs 

From  the  starting  position  of  standing  with  legs  and 
feet  together,  and  hands  at  the  sides: 

Count  1.  Full  bend  knees  and  place  the  hands  on  the 
floor  beside  the  feet. 

Count  2.  Extend  the  legs  backward  and  straighten 
the  arms.  (The  weight  now  rests  upon  hands  and  toes 
with  face  upward  and  back  arched.) 

Count  3.     Return  to  same  position  as  Count  I. 

Count  4.     Return  to  position. 


86  TACKLING   TECH. 

Repeating  to  include  16  counts. 
Repeat  deep  breathing  exercise. 

Bathing  and  Keeping  Clean 

After  your  exercises  in  the  morning  especially, 
take  a  cold  bath  or  shower.  Then  rub  yourself 
dry  with  a  harsh  towel,  making  sure  that  no 
dampness  remains  on  any  part  of  the  body.  If 
a  good  reaction  results  from  a  cold  bath  it  gives 
an  excellent  stimulus  to  the  skin  and  to  the  whole 
body,  and  apparently  in  many  cases  aids  also  in 
building  up  resistance  to  colds  and  other  mal- 
adies. 

Getting  a  Thorough  Work-Out 

For  a  man  to  get  the  most  from  his  body  he 
must  frequently  have  a  thorough  work-out.  It 
may  seem  rather  difficult  at  first  to  knock  off  for 
three  or  four  hours  a  week  and  give  the  time  to 
exercise,  but  try  it  for  several  months  and  you 
will  be  surprised  at  the  improvement  in  your 
work  and  in  your  general  health.  To  some  this 
may  savor  of  prep  school  days,  when  gym.  was 
required  three  times  a  week.  But  drop  into  the 
gymnasium  of  your  own  free  will,  or  join  with 
one  or  two  others  in  a  game  of  hand  ball,  and  you 
will  be  surprised  at  the  enjoyment  you  get. 
When  such  exercise  becomes  monotonous,  and 


HEALTH   AND   ENERGY  Sy 

when  the  season  is  right,  try  some  lively  outdoor 
sport.  Learn  to  enjoy  your  work-outs,  and  take 
them  regularly  three  times  a  week.  The  time  so 
spent  will  be  anything  but  wasted,  and  you  will 
be  able  to  perform  your  other  duties  better  for 
having  taken  the  extra  time  off. 

Common  Sense  in  Eating 

Few  men  realize  the  important  bearing  of 
proper  food  and  a  balanced  diet  in  generating  an 
abundance  of  physical  energy.  Danger  usually 
arises  from  disregarding  the  counsel  of  modera- 
tion. Students,  especially,  are  likely  to  eat  either 
too  much  or  too  little  food.  The  former  may 
cause  trouble,  due  to  the  formation  of  poisons  by 
the  partially  digested  food,  and  the  latter  is  sure 
to  reduce  a  student's  effectiveness.  Eat  enough  to 
meet  your  needs  but  do  not  stuff  your  stomach 
with  more  food  than  you  can  possibly  utilize.  In 
striving  to  maintain  the  ideal  balance  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  the  amount  of  food  required  is 
practically  proportional  to  the  physical  exercise 
taken.  It  has  little  to  do  with  the  mental  activity. 
Give  your  body  the  amount  and  the  kind  of  fuel 
it  demands  to  carry  on  its  work.  Do  not  over- 
supply  it  with  trash  which  does  more  harm  than 
good. 

It  would  be  absurd  for  a  student  burdened  with 


88  TACKLING   TECH. 

all  his  other  cares  to  bother  about  a  balanced  diet. 
Ordinarily  the  appetite  is  the  best  of  guides.  In 
the  eating  of  two  classes  of  food,  however  (pro- 
teins and  cellulose  material),  the  appetite  is  of 
little  assistance  in  determining  the  proper 
amounts.  In  general  too  much  protein  and  too 
little  cellulose  material  is  eaten.  Below  are  ap- 
pended some  suggestions  by  authorities  on  the 
subject  of  foods  who  are  familiar  also  with  the 
needs  and  failings  of  the  average  student : 

Eat  plenty  of  fruit,  preserved  or  fresh. 

Eat  plenty  of  coarse  vegetables. 

Eat  meat  not  oftener  than  once  a  day.  Most  stu- 
dents eat  twice  as  much  protein  as  necessary.  This 
includes  meat,  fish,  cheese,  nuts,  etc.  More  than 
enough  protein  for  an  average  student  for  one  day 
would  be  obtained  from  the  following:  One  tgg,  one 
glass  of  milk,  four  slices  of  bread,  and  six  ounces  of 
lean  meat  or  fowl. 

Eat  coarse  bread.  Bran  muffins  are  excellent  for 
scraping  the  intestinal  tract. 

Drink  plenty  of  water.  Eight  glasses  a  day  is  a  good 
standard. 

Eat  a  moderate  amount  of  pastry  and  sweets. 

Beware  of  an  excess  of  tea  or  coffee. 

Prevention  of  Colds 

The  ravages  of  colds  upon  the  health  and  gen- 
eral efficiency  of  students  during  a  school  year 
are  of  serious  consequence.    The  tendency  among 


HEALTH   AND   ENERGY  89 

those  fighting  this  menace  is  toward  prevention 
of  the  epidemic  rather  than  cure.  By  giving 
heed  to  the  details  of  caring  for  yourself,  you  can 
do  much  in  aiding  this  work. 

An  important  point  to  remember  in  avoiding 
colds  is  to  keep  the  teeth  and  mouth  scrupulously 
clean.  Don't  spare  the  tooth  brush,  either  morn- 
ing or  night.  A  still  more  serious  danger  than 
mouth  infection  lies  in  incomplete  excretion  from 
the  intestinal  tract.  Gowin  speaks  of  this  as  the 
"worst  of  all  anti-efficient  maladies."  A  better 
treatment  for  constipation  than  any  amount  of 
cathartic  is  sufficient  exercise,  six  or  eight  glasses 
of  cold  water  a  day,  and  a  couple  of  bran  muffins. 
By  keeping  your  body  as  free  from  dirt  and  poi- 
sons as  possible,  getting  plenty  of  sleep,  and  by 
taking  precautions  against  damp  feet,  either  from 
perspiration  or  moisture  from  the  outside,  you 
should  easily  be  able  to  reduce  your  susceptibility 
to  taking  cold  to  one-third  of  what  it  would  be 
ordinarily.  This  is  a  long  step  toward  attaining 
the  goal  of  100  per  cent  efficiency  in  health  and 
energy,  which  should  be  every  student's  aim. 

The  following  suggestions  are  taken  from  a 
paper  entitled  "Colds  and  Coughs,"  by  Dr.  G.  H. 
Boehmer,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio.  After  duly  empha- 
sizing the  fact  that  colds  are  not  by  any  means 
taken  seriously  enough,  either  by  the  average 


go 


TACKLING   TECH. 


physician  or  the  average  patient,  the  author 
points  out  the  wide  range  of  secondary  disorders, 
which  can  be  directly  traced  back  to  the  patient 
having  "caught  a  cold,"  and  continues : 

I  think  the  sooner  we  quit  "kidding  ourselves"  with 
the  so-called  cold  cures,  the  sooner  we  regard  all 
colds,  especially  of  the  respiratory  tract,  with  gravity 
and  anxiety,  impress  our  patients  with  their  complica- 
tions and  secondary  disorders  and  make  them  under- 
stand that  isolation  and  rest  in  bed  is  the  most  satisfac- 
tory, quickest  and  safest  cure,  we  will  have  gone  a  long 
way  towards  accomplishing  something  definite,  reliev- 
ing much  suffering  and  materially  reducing  our  death 
rate. 

Bibliography 

Bainbridge,  F.  A.    Physiology  of  Muscular  Exercise. 
Camp,  W.  C.    Keeping  Fit  All  The  Day. 
Fisher,  I.    Effect  of  Diet  on  Endurance. 
Walters,  F.  M.    Principles  of  Health  Control. 
Williams,  J.  F.    Healthful  Living. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GENERAL  STUDIES— READING  AND 
SELF-EXPRESSION 

There  are  two  general  classes  of  competency  which  are 
generated  in  the  schools.  These  are  Competency  to  Serve 
and  Competency  to  Appreciate  and  Enjoy. — Professor  J.  B. 
Johnson.  "Two  Kinds  of  Education  for  Engineers."  Wad- 
dell  and  Harrington,  Addresses  to  Engineering  Students. 

The  Importance  of  Non-Technical  Courses 

In  the  curricula  of  most  technical  schools  at  the 
present  time  a  considerable  number  of  general 
studies  are  included.  These  consist  chiefly  of 
courses  in  English,  History,  Language,  General 
Science,  Economics,  and  Fine  Arts.  To  those 
who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  needs  of  technical 
students,  the  reason  for  the  introduction  of  such 
subjects  is  not  always  clear.  Probably  in  your 
case,  if  you  were  left  to  your  own  resources  in 
beginning  a  course  of  technical  study,  you  would 
eliminate  to  a  large  extent  all  extraneous  work 
and  would  then  feel  that  you  were  "getting 
down  to  business."  In  reality,  the  general  studies 
offered  in  connection  with  technical  courses  of 
training  form  what  is  unquestionably  an  essential 
part  of  the  broader  training  of  the  engineer 
today. 

9i 


92  TACKLING   TECH. 

The  study  of  subjects  other  than  those  dealing 
with  science,  mathematics,  and  the  mechanics  of 
engineering  gives  you  a  broader  basis  upon  which 
to  build  your  specialized  training.  It  has  been 
wisely  said  that  the  competent  engineer  should 
know  "something  about  everything,  and  every- 
thing about  something." 

Getting  the  Most  from  General  Studies 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  you  may  regard 
a  general  study  which  you  take.  Either  you  may 
look  upon  it  as  a  nuisance,  and  as  something  to 
be  passed  of!  with  as  little  unnecessary  effort  as 
possible;  or  you  may  regard  it  as  giving  you  ex- 
ceptional opportunities  for  recreation  and  broader 
development.  Formerly,  such  studies  may  have 
been  irksome  to  you ;  now  you  can  go  to  them  for 
enjoyment  and  a  wider  outlook. 

Selecting  Optional  Courses  Wisely 

The  problem  of  what  general  or  optional 
courses  you  should  choose  is  an  important  one 
to  consider.  An  acquaintance,  who  had  recently 
taken  work  in  both  a  technical  institution  and  a 
large  university  to  obtain  his  doctor's  degree, 
emphasized  strongly  in  discussing  this  subject 
the  necessity  for  a  most  careful  selection  of  such 
courses  by  technical  students,  in  order  to  avoid 


GENERAL   STUDIES  93 

the  danger  of  too  narrow  technical  training.  Also, 
he  appreciated  the  advisability  of  selecting  courses 
which  could  not  be  mastered  later. 

Self-Expression  for  the  Engineer 

In  the  past  it  was  felt  that  engineers  found  lit- 
tle use  for  anything  beyond  a  cursory  training  in 
English  composition  and  rhetoric.  At  the  pres- 
ent and  in  the  future,  however,  this  error  is  bound 
to  be  rectified.  The  engineer  is  no  longer  an  iso- 
lated calculator  of  mathematical  results,  but  is 
called  upon  to  throw  himself  bodily  into  the 
struggle  of  modern  business.  For  every  pro- 
gressive step  that  is  made,  there  are  contracts  to 
be  drawn  up,  reports  to  be  written,  and  boards  of 
directors  to  be  convinced.  Important  transac- 
tions, whether  of  a  business  or  a  purely  scientific 
nature,  are  the  results  of  exchanges  of  thought. 
The  engineer  and  the  technical  expert  are  re- 
peatedly called  upon  to  interpret  as  well  as  to 
record  the  findings  of  their  investigations.  As 
one  of  the  broader  technically  trained  men  of 
today,  desiring  every  opportunity  for  success,  you 
must  prepare  yourself  to  meet  these  requirements. 

Means  of  Improvement 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  the  technical 
student  can  greatly  improve  his  ability  to  express 


94  TACKLING   TECH. 

himself  while  he  is  obtaining  his  regular  course 
of  training.  The  reading  of  good  books  is  an 
excellent  stepping  stone  to  improvement  in  the 
use  of  English.  The  courses  customarily  given 
in  English  and  Public  Speaking  in  most  technical 
schools  are  regarded  by  many  students  as  com- 
paratively unimportant.  In  reality  they  are  of 
scarcely  less  importance  than  the  technical  train- 
ing itself. 

Establishing  a  Goal  of  Self-Expression 

There  are  two  definite  goals  of  achievement  in 
self-expression  toward  which  you  should  strive 
throughout  your  course:  First,  you  should  be 
able  to  write  a  first  rate  report  on  a  technical  or 
semitechnical  subject;  second,  if  given  a  similar 
topic  you  should  be  able  to  address  a  group  of 
men  forcefully  and  effectively. 

A  report  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  mass  of  in- 
formation thrown  together  in  writing,  nor  even 
as  a  fairly  well-connected  statement  of  facts  and 
conclusions.  Rather  it  should  be  a  carefully 
planned,  logical  statement,  directed  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  a  definite  purpose.  Its  form 
should  be  standard,  the  organization  and  presen- 
tation of  its  material  should  be  effective,  and  its 
English  should  be  clear  and  concise. 

Your  ease  in  speaking  should  be  so  well  devel- 


GENERAL   STUDIES  95 

oped  through  continued  training  ,and  practice 
that  you  will  be  able  to  address  an  audience  with- 
out losing  your  poise  and  self-control.  Learn  to 
marshal  your  facts  in  such  a  clear,  forceful,  and 
unhesitating  manner,  that  they  drive  home  your 
points  convincingly. 

Business  men  who  deal  with  graduates  of 
many  of  our  technical  institutions  complain  that 
they  find  them  inadequately  trained  to  cope  with 
the  human  factor.  In  the  future  it  will  be  the 
man  who  has  the  ability  to  express  his  thoughts 
readily  and  convincingly  both  in  writing  and 
speaking  who  will  fill  the  highest  positons. 

The  Student  Engineer  and  Good  Literature 

There  is  nothing  better  to  get  your  thoughts 
out  of  a  rut  and  to  refresh  your  mind  and  imagi- 
nation than  good  reading.  Have  you  ever  con- 
sidered that  in  reading  a  book  you  are  usually 
getting  within  a  few  hours  the  concentrated  re- 
sults of  perhaps  years  of  thought  and  effort  by 
the  author  ?  An  acquaintance  used  to  say  that  he 
could  get  more  real  fun  out  of  his  Mark  Twain 
than  most  of  us  did  from  the  movies.  This  habit 
of  reading  will  stand  you  in  good  stead  through- 
out your  whole  life  as  an  infallible  means  of  im- 
proving your  general  knowledge  and  of  giving 
you  recreation  and  enjoyment. 


96  TACKLING   TECH. 

Finding  Time  to  Read 

Students  are  likely  to  say  that  reading*  is  not 
possible  for  a  man  taking  a  technical  course,  but 
I  heartily  disagree  with  them.  Considerable 
reading  can  be  done  by  any  college  or  technical 
man,  no  matter  how  busy  he  may  be.  It  is 
largely  a  matter  of  filling  in  the  spare  moments, 
and  the  habit  of  picking  up  a  good  book  or  mag- 
azine and  reading  it  as  the  opportunity  presents 
itself  is  well  worth  your  while  to  cultivate. 

There  is  also  the  further  possibility  of  making 
your  reading  an  incentive  for  completing  your 
other  work.  Plan  to  give  up  certain  quiet  hours 
to  enjoyable  books.  Arrange  this  on  your  sched- 
ule. Soon  you  will  learn  to  anticipate  these  and 
to  appreciate  them  fully.  And  in  the  end  you  will 
acquire  the  habit  of  reading  rapidly  and  inten- 
sively when  deeply  interested. 

What  to  Read 

What  you  read  will  depend  of  course  some- 
what upon  the  conditions  and  circumstances  of 
the  time  at  your  disposal.  The  summer  offers  a 
good  opportunity  for  the  books  that  are  too  long 
to  undertake  during  a  school  term.  I  recall  an 
acquaintance  who  made  out  a  carefully  selected 
list  of  books  to  read  before  he  left  school  after 
his  second  year.  During  the  summer  he  com- 
pleted the  reading  of  more  than  a  dozen  of  them. 


GENERAL   STUDIES  97 

On  the  other  hand,  while  school  is  in  session,  one 
book  a  month  is  a  reasonable  standard  to  main- 
tain. A  list  of  books  and  periodicals  is  here 
added  to  guide  you  in  a  wise  choice  of  reading 
throughout  your  four  years'  course. 

Specific  Suggestions  * 

The  objective  of  the  study  of  required  text- 
books is  a  mental  discipline  that  pushes  forward 
the  frontiers  of  knowledge.  The  objective  of 
cultural  reading  is  a  mental  pleasure  and  a  vis- 
ion that  pushes  forward  the  frontiers  of  life. 

Suggested  Authors  Suggested   Books3 

Humor 
Mark  Twain  Huckleberry  Finn 

Stephen  Leacock  Nonsense  Novels 

Heywood  Broun  Seeing  Things  at  Night 

Robert  Benchley  Of  All  Things 

Donald  Ogden  Stewart  Outline  of  History 

A  parody  "which  makes 
you  laugh  aloud  when  you 
read  it  in  solitude." 

Louis  Untermeyer  Heavens 

Parodies  by  virtue  of 
which  "he  wins  the  im- 
mortals by  his  limitations' 
of  immorality." 


1  This  list  of  books  and  periodicals  has  been  compiled  especially  for 
"Tackling  Tech."  by  Mr.  W.  Frederic  Berry,  Librarian  of  the 
Christian  Science  Monitor,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

a  In  every  case  other  books  by  the  same  author  are  likely  to  be  of 
equal  interest  and  value. 


98 


TACKLING   TECH. 


Suggested  Authors 

English 
Rudyard  Kipling 
R.  L.  Stephenson 
Hugh  Walpole 

Joseph  Conrad 

Gilbert  Chesterton 

John  Galsworthy 
Conan  Doyle 

Daniel  Corkery 


Alys  Eyre   Macklin   (trans- 
lator) 


American 
Edith  Wharton 
Willa  Cather 

Zona  Gale 
O.  Henry 
Don  Marquis 

Booth  Tarkington 


Suggested  Books 


Fiction 


Kim 

Kidnapped 

The  Dark  Forest 

The  Secret  City 

Youth 

Nostromo 

The    Napoleon    of    Notting 
Hill 

The  Forsyte  Saga 

Micah  Clarke 

The  Hound  of  the  Basker- 
villes 

The  Hounds  of  Banba 
An  intimate  revelation  of 
the  soul  of  the  Irish  revo- 
lution   written    with    rare 
literary  charm. 

Twenty-nine  French  Tales 
These    fascinating    contes 
are   so   many   touchstones 
to    the    understanding    of 
the  French  character. 


The  Age  of  Innocence 
O  Pioneers ! 
My  Antonia 
Miss  Lulu  Bett 
The  Trimmed  Lamp 
Cruise  of  the  Jasper 
Carter  and  Other  People 
Alice  Adams 


GENERAL   STUDIES 


99 


Suggested  Authors 

Sinclair  Lewis 
Sherwood  Anderson 


Suggested  Books 

The  Job 

The  Triumph  of  the  Egg 


Psychology,  Philosophy,  and  Ethics 


John  Dewey 

D.  Drake 

James  Harvey  Robinson 

William  James 


E.  B.  Holt 


Human  Nature  and  Conduct 

Problems  of  Conduct 

Mind  in  the  Making 

Selected  Papers  on  Phil- 
osophy 

The  Will  to  Believe  and 
Other  Essays 

Pragmatism 

The  Freudian  Wish 


Present-Day  Questions 


F.  C.  Kelly 
W.  E.  Hocking 

W.  L.  Chenery 

Otto  Kahn 

John  Hayes  Hammond  and 

Jeremiah  Jenks 
Rudolph  Eucken 
Walter  Weyl 
Walter  Lippman 
Graham  Wallace 


Human  Nature  in  Business 

Human  Nature  and  Its  Re- 
making 

Industry  and  Human  Wel- 
fare 

Our  Economic  and  Other 
Problems 

Great  American  Issues 

Socialism,  an  Analysis 
Tired  Radicals 
Public  Opinion 
Human  Nature  in  Politics 
Our  Social  Heritage 


Essayists 

(Best  of  companions  for  the  odd  moments) 
Max  Beerbohm  More— Works 

A.  A.  Milne  As  I  May 


IOO 


TACKLING   TECH. 


Suggested  Authors 

E.  V.  Lucas 

John  Galsworthy 

Samuel  McChord  Crothers 

Agnes  Repplier 
Katherine  Fullerton  Gerould 
Logan  Pearsall  Smith 
C.  B.  Fairbanks 


Suggested  Books 

Adventures  and  Enthusiasms 

A  Sheaf 

Humanly  Speaking 

The  Gentle  Reader 

Compromises 

Modes  and  Morals 

Trivia 

My  Unknown  Chum 


Nature  and  Out  of  Doors 


John  Burroughs 


John  Muir 

C.  G.  D.  Roberts 

William  Beebe 

Theodore  Roosevelt 


Camping      and      Tramping 

With  Roosevelt 
Field  and  Study 
The  Yosemite 
Secret  Trails 
x\lone  in  the  Jungle 
Jungle  Trails 
African  Game  Trails 
Wilderness  Hunter 
Through   the    Brazilian 

Wilderness 


Drama 


George  Bernard  Shaw 
Sir  James  Barrie 
John  Galsworthy 


John  Masefield 
John  Drinkwater 
Arthur  Pinero 


Man  and  Superman 

Caesar  and  Cleopatra 

The  Admirable  Crichton 

Echoes  of  the  War 

Strife 

Justice 

The  Silver  Box 

The  Tragedy  of  Nan 

Abraham  Lincoln 

The  Second  Mrs.  Tanqueray 

Mid-Channel 


GENERAL    STUDIES 


:oi. 


Suggested  Authors 
Clyde  Fitch 
Oscar  Wilde 

Augustus  Thomas 
W.  B.  Yeats 

Lord  Dunsany 
William  Vaughn  Moody 
Charles  Rann  Kennedy 


Suggested  Books 

The  Truth 

Climbers 

An  Ideal  Husband 

Lady  Windermere's  Fan 

As  a  Man  Thinks 

The  Hour  Glass  and  Other 

Plays 
Five  Plays 
The  Great  Divide 
The  Servant  in  the  House 


Poetry 
Oxford  Book  of  English  Verse,  ed.  by  A.  Quiller-Couch 
Book  of  Modern  British  Verse,  ed.  by  W.  S.  B.  Braith- 

wate 
Modern  American  Poetry,  Modern  British  Poetry,  ed.  by 

Louis  Untermeyer 
Chief  American  Poets,  ed.  by  C.  H.  Page 
High  Tide,  Songs  of  Joy  and  Vision  from  Present  Day 

Poets,  ed.  by  Mrs.  Waldo  Richards 
Don  Marquis  Poems  and  Portraits 

Robert  Frost  North  of  Boston 

Rudyard  Kipling  Collected  Poems 

John  Masefield  Salt  Water  Poems  and  Bal- 

lads 
Robert  Service  Spell  of  the  Yukon 


H.  G.  Wells 
Hendrik  Van  Loon 
Chronicles   of   America,    50 
volumes 


History  and  Science 

Outline  of  History 
Story  of  Mankind 
Every  phase  of  political, 
economic,  and  social  de- 
velopment of  the  United 
States  is  treated  in  this 
invaluable  series. 


ID-2 


TACKLING   TECH. 


Suggested  Authors 
J.  Arthur  Thomson 


Edwark  Bok 

Henry  Adams 
Gamaliel  Bradford 


E.  T.  Raymond 
Walter  Lowry 


Lord  Charnwood 
A.  Rothschild 
Bradley  Gilman 

Hermann  Hagedorn 


Suggested  Books 

The  Outline  of  Science 

University  of  Aberdeen; 
the  aim  of  this  work  is  to 
give  in  plain  language  an 
outline  of  the  main  scien- 
tific ideas  of  today. 

Biography 

Americanization  of  Edward 

Bok 
Education  of  Henry  Adams 
Union  Portraits 
Confederate  Portraits 
Portraits     of      American 

Women 
Uncensored    Celebrities 
(British  publicists  of   to- 
day) 
Washington    Close-Ups 
(American    publicists    of 
today) 
Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
Lincoln,  Master  of  Men 
Roosevelt  the  Happy   War- 
rior 
Roosevelt  in  the  Bad  Lands 


Religion 
No  books  have  been  added  on  this  subject,  not  because 
of  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  its  supreme  value,  but  from 
the  conviction  that  each  individual  must  find  the  road  best 
suited  to  his  temperament.  However,  one  book — the  great 
book  of  religion,  the  Bible — may  well  be  studied.  An  in- 
valuable introduction  to  this  study  is  to  be  found  in  the 
"Shorter  Bible,  Old  and  New  Testament,"  edited  by  Pro- 


GENERAL   STUDIES  103 

fessor  Kent  of  Yale  University.    Modern  Reader's  Bible — 
Professor  Richard  Moulton. 

Newspapers  and  Periodicals 
Daily 
New  York  Times 
New  York  Tribune 
New  York  Evening  Post 
Philadelphia  Public  Ledger 
Baltimore  American 
New  Orleans  Times-Picayune 
Chicago  Tribune 
Chicago  Daily  News 
St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat 
Los  Angeles  Times 
San  Francisco  Chronicle 
Boston  Transcript 
Boston  Herald 
Christian  Science  Monitor 

Weekly 
The  Outlook 
The    Independent   and    Weekly    Review    (constructively    a 

conservative  bi-weekly) 
The  New  Republic  (liberal) 

The  Freeman  (high  literary  standard — advanced  radical) 
The  Literary  Digest 

Magazines 
Scribner's  Magazine 
Harper's  Magazine 
The  Atlantic  Monthly 
The  Century 

Special  Features 
New  York  World 

Heywood    Broun — "It    Seems    to    Me"    (brilliant,    pene- 
trating, provocative) 


104  TACKLING   TECH. 

Franklin  P.  Adams — "The   Conning  Tower"    (prince  of 
columnists) 
New  York  Evening  Post 

Christopher  Morley — "The  Bowling  Green"   (stimulating 
literary  persiflage) 
The  Literary   Review    (best   critical  paper   in   the  United 

States) 
New  York  Tribune 

Don  Marquis — Columns 
News  Interpreters — Worth  Reading 

Mark  Sullivan 

Frank  H.  Simonds 

Charles  H.  Grasty 

Herbert  Adams  Gibbons 

Crawford  Price 

David  Lawrence 

Ray  Stannard  Baker 


CHAPTER  IX 

ACTIVITIES 

The  Appeal  of  Activities  in  College 

College  activities  are  in  reality  very  much  like 
high  school  activities  in  a  more  advanced  form. 
They  are  your  old  friends  dressed  up  in  new 
clothes.  In  high  school  you  may  never  have 
thought  of  the  Glee  Club,  school  dramatics,  the 
debates,  or  the  athletic  teams  as  "activities."  In 
a  sense,  all  the  things  of  this  sort  in  which  you 
took  part,  outside  of  your  regular  studies  and 
possibly  your  home  duties,  could  be  so  named. 

Upon  your  entrance  to  college  or  a  technical 
school  you  find  all  these  functioning,  but  on  a 
larger  scale.  The  incentive  to  go  out  for  activi- 
ties is  stronger  in  college  than  in  a  preparatory 
school,  and  the  benefits  which  can  be  derived  are 
far  greater.  There  is  a  stronger  appeal  to  make 
good  where  competition  is  keen,  and  the  rewards 
are  correspondingly  great,  but  the  demands  of 
activities  upon  your  time  and  energy  may  be 
dangerously  increased. 

Activities  for  the  Freshman  and  the  Senior 

The  man  who  comes  to  a  college  or  a  technical 
school  filled  with  the  determination  to  get  the 
105 


106  TACKLING   TECH. 

most  from  his  four  years  of  training  finds  that 
the  term  "activities"  means  more  and  more  as 
each  year  passes.  The  student  who  has  been 
"through  the  mill"  sees  no  longer  anything  mys- 
terious in  undergraduate  organizations.  Al- 
though especially  familiar  with  details  pertain- 
ing to  the  particular  positions  which  he  himself 
held,  he  is  easily  able  to  picture  all  the  activities 
of  the  school  and  their  relationship  to  one  another. 
In  another  school,  also,  he  would  find  little  diffi- 
culty in  quickly  grasping  the  scheme  of  activities 
as  a  whole,  and  in  fitting  each  group  into  its  place. 
The  freshman,  on  the  other  hand,  knows  little 
about  activities,  except  what  he  learns  through 
the  channels  open  to  him.  The  managership 
competition  or  the  "chasing  of  ads."  seems  of 
greater  importance  than  the  relationship  between 
the  Athletic  Association  and  the  Board  of  Stu- 
dent Government.  At  times  he  wonders,  per- 
haps, where  these  detailed  duties  will  lead  him. 
In  order  to  select  wisely  the  opportunities  which 
possibly  are  open,  and  to  make  the  most  of  those 
so  chosen,  it  is  essential  that  a  freshman  strive  to 
relate  the  groups  of  activities  to  the  whole. 

Studying  Activities  to  Advantage 

Every  man  sooner  or  later  realizes  that  his 
knowledge   concerning   activities   is   incomplete. 


ACTIVITIES  107 

There  are  several  methods  whereby  such  knowl- 
edge can  be  improved.  The  year  book  at  almost 
every  institution  is  a  veritable  catalogue  describ- 
ing activities,  giving  lists  of  managers,  editors, 
etc.,  and  an  excellent  idea  of  the  organization 
carrying  various  lines  of  work.  Moreover,  the 
names  of  leaders  and  others  well  versed  in  the 
various  activities  can  readily  be  obtained,  and 
these  men  will  converse  gladly  with  younger 
students  eager  for  information  or  counsel. 

Activities  Analyzed 

Although  the  emphasis  laid  upon  specific  ac- 
tivities varies  in  schools,  the  general  plan  of  stu- 
dent organization  is  the  same.  At  the  Intercol- 
legiate Conference  on  Undergraduate  Govern- 
ment, held  recently  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology,  striking  similarities  were  evi- 
denced between  the  main  divisions  of  activities  in 
each  of  the  42  colleges  and  technical  schools  rep- 
resented. An  outline  of  activities,  similar  to  that 
used  at  the  Conference,  is  given  below. 
1.     Undergraduate  Government 

Student  Councils  (Committees,  Governing  Bod- 
ies, etc.) 

Committees  and  Subcommittees 

Officers  (President,  Secretaries,  Treasurers,  Di- 
rectors, etc.) 

Class  Officers 


io8  TACKLING   TECH. 

Class  Representatives 

Class  Committees  (Junior  Prom,  Senior  Week, 
etc.) 

2.  Athletics 

Athletic  Association  (Council,  Committees,  etc.) 

Officers 

President,  Vice-President,  Secretary,  etc. 

Treasurer  and  Assistants  (or  Paid  Manager) 

Managers  and  Assistant  Managers 
Major  Sports 

Football,  Baseball,  etc. 

Track 

Crew 
Minor  Sports  (Hockey,  Gym.,  Boxing,  etc.) 

Cheering  Sections,  etc. 

Interclass  Sports 

Interfraternity    Sports 

3.  Publications 

Year  Book 

Literary  and  Professional  Magazines 
Newspapers 
Comics 
Handbooks 
Pictorials 

Special  Class  Papers,  etc. 

Publicity  Relations  (reporting  to  outside  papers, 
etc.) 

4.  Musical  Clubs  and  Dramatics 

Glee  Club   (regular  membership,  specialty  acts, 

etc.) 
Instrumental  Clubs 
Bands 
Musical  Comedies 


ACTIVITIES  109 

Dramatics,  Mystery  Plays 
Folk  Plays,  Pageants,  etc. 
Management 

General  Managers  and  Submanagers 
Treasurers  and  Assistants 
Other  Officers 

Benefits  Derived  from  Training 

If  you  will  maintain  the  proper  relation  be- 
tween activities  and  studies,  and  between  activi- 
ties and  your  other  pastimes,  the  benefits  which 
you  will  derive  are  almost  innumerable.  You 
will  be  taught  to  mix  with  your  fellows,  to  learn 
to  work  harmoniously  with  many  other  members 
of  an  organization.  Also,  you  will  gain  by  your 
conduct  and  personality  the  confidence  and  re- 
spect of  your  fellows.  Thus  you  will  be  given 
opportunities  to  develop  your  initiative,  your 
"stick-to-itiveness,"  and  your  judgment.  You 
will  learn  to  accept  responsibility  and  authority, 
and  also  to  administer  them. 

You  will  learn  also  from  bitter  experience  the 
importance  of  seeking  and  heeding  the  advice 
both  of  friends  and  of  enemies.  Your  interests 
will  be  broadened,  and  your  abilities  increased. 
In  short,  if  you  will  but  seek  to  obtain  from  activi- 
ties the  opportunities  they  offer,  you  will  gain 
from  them  a  large  part  of  the  broader  education 
and  training  most  necessary  for  your  proper  de- 
velopment. 


110  TACKLING   TECH. 

The  Activities  Laboratory 

Activities  are  experimental  laboratories,  in 
which,  during  your  four  years'  course,  you  can 
carry  out  important  and  valuable  study  in  human 
engineering.  By  this  means  you  will  learn  early 
to  size  up  yourself  by  comparing  your  standards 
with  those  of  the  other  fellows.  By  this  process 
you  will  learn  to  test  yourself  under  severe 
strains,  and  to  receive  with  equanimity  criticisms 
which  are  often  harsh  and  biting.  In  addition  you 
will  need  at  times  to  curb  your  ambitions  and  sub- 
ordinate your  will,  in  order  that  through  work- 
ing in  harmony  with  your  fellows  better  co-opera- 
tion may  be  obtained.  The  results  of  these  exper- 
iments will  give  you  knowledge  of  your  strong 
and  weak  points  which  later  will  be  invaluable, 
and  which  will  help  you  to  improve  your  ability 
at  the  time  when  such  improvement  is  most  ad- 
vantageous. Hence  the  man  taking  a  technical 
course  does  well  to  go  out  for  activities,  and  to 
emphasize  in  them  the  spirit  of  play  as  much  as 
possible. 

Special  Advantages  from  Certain  Activities 

Certain  types  of  activities  give  in  many  cases 
special  advantages  to  the  man  who  participates 
in  them.  This,  for  example,  is  true  of  athletics ; 
for  besides  the  usual  advantages  to  be  derived 


ACTIVITIES  III 

from  an  extra-curriculum  pastime,  most  of  the 
exercise  obtained  tends  to  keep  a  man  in  better 
condition  both  physically  and  mentally.  Statis- 
tics indicate  that  in  technical  schools  especially, 
where  the  burden  of  work  to  be  done  may  be  par- 
ticularly severe,  a  break  in  the  health  of  students 
is  most  likely  to  occur  near  the  end  of  the  third 
year.  Students  who  go  in  for  an  athletic  event 
for  which  they  must  train  regularly,  inevitably 
avoid  the  hazards  of  not  obtaining  sufficient  ex- 
ercise. 

An  Example 

Almost  innumerable  examples  of  similar  ad- 
vantages might  be  mentioned.  One  only  will  be 
cited — the  opportunities  of  becoming  personally 
acquainted  with  members  of  the  faculty  and  of 
meeting  prominent  and  successful  alumni.  In 
the  case  of  faculty  members,  more  intimate  ac- 
quaintances are  almost  invariably  established  than 
in  the  every-day  work,  and  the  benefits  derived 
by  the  student  are  increased  correspondingly. 

As  an  example  of  such  associations  the  expe- 
riences of  a  friend  who  recently  completed  his 
fourth  year  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  are  to  the  point.  He  filled  the  im- 
portant position  of  Undergraduate  Treasurer 
during  his  senior  year,  and  he  had  previously 


112  TACKLING   TECH. 

held  several  others  of  almost  equal  importance. 
While  performing  these  tasks  he  had  come  into 
personal  contact  with  the  President  of  the  Bos- 
ton Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Chairman  of  the 
Boston  Federal  Reserve  Board,  several  other  men 
who  were  heads  of  various  well-known  manu- 
facturing industries,  and  financial  officers  of  the 
Institute.  Discussions  of  actual  business  prob- 
lems with  men  of  such  caliber  are  bound  to  be  of 
great  present  and  future  value  to  students. 

Resume 

No  figures  are  at  present  available  to  show 
conclusively  the  effect  of  activities  upon  men  in 
engineering  professions.  Nevertheless,  statistics 
indicate  that  as  many  as  two-thirds  of  the  eminent 
engineers  in  the  country  took  at  least  some  part 
in  functions  of  this  sort  during  their  four  years 
of  training.1 

Many  educators  are  awakening  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  really  valuable  training  which  men 
receive  in  activities.  A  report  covering  an  ex- 
haustive research  into  this  matter  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology  surveys  the  field 


1 A  report  compiled  by  Professor  Raymond  Walters,  Dean  of 
Swarthmore  College,  through  the  American  Association  of  Collegiate 
Registrars,  states  that  out  of  approximately  180  eminent  engineers 
whose  undergraduate  records  were  studied,  61  had  taken  some  part 
in  athletics,  122  in  literary  and  scientific  activities,  and  115  in  social 
organizations. 


ACTIVITIES  113 

from  various  angles.  On  the  question  of  how 
activities  are  regarded  by  prospective  employers 
of  engineering  students,  opinions  from  the  heads 
of  courses  were  obtained.  Fairly  stated,  the  con- 
sensus of  these  opinions  was  that  a  man  promi- 
nent in  activities  and  of  reasonably  high  scholas- 
tic standing  was  in  greater  demand  by  outside 
business  organizations  than  one  showing  extra- 
ordinary ability  only  in  his  professional  work. 

The  time  may  yet  come  when  credits  will  be 
granted  for  satisfactory  work  performed  in  activi- 
ties, as  well  as  that  done  in  the  more  regular 
courses  of  training  provided  by  our  educational 
institutions.  Both  at  the  Carnegie  Institute  of 
Technology  and  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  the  feasibility  of  granting  a  certain 
amount  of  scholastic  credit  to  activities  by  means 
of  a  point  system  is  being  seriously  considered. 


CHAPTER  X 

PLAYING  THE  ACTIVITIES  GAME 

Getting  a  Good  Start 

College  training  is  valuable  because  it  encour- 
ages and  indeed  forces  men  to  undertake  a  wide 
variety  of  duties,  and  minimizes  the  cost  of  dam- 
age wrought  through  mistakes.  Similarly,  ac- 
tivities encourage  a  man  to  shoulder  heavy  re- 
sponsibilities and  to  perform  difficult  tasks,  and  at 
the  same  time  heap  most  of  the  rewards  for  suc- 
cess and  penalties  for  failure  on  the  individual. 
You  may  go  out  for  an  activity,  therefore,  secure 
in  the  knowledge  that  if  you  do  not  succeed  in 
your  effort  few  others  will  suffer  as  a  result  of 
your  failure. 

It  is  not  essential  that  a  man  have  great  inher- 
ent ability  in  order  to  go  out  for  a.  particular 
activity.  Activities  afford  opportunities  for  a 
man  to  try  himself  out  and  to  develop  ability 
along  various  lines.  You  may  soon  learn  that 
you  are  entirely  unsuited  to  that  which  you  first 
attempt,  but  this  knowledge  itself  is  valuable. 
By  careful  selection  and  by  sticking  to  the  search 
you  will  find  eventually  something  which  you  like, 
and  something  in  which  you  will  be  able  to  make 
good. 

114 


PLAYING   THE    ACTIVITIES    GAME        115 

Having  an  End  in  View 

While  it  is  well  to  have  some  definite  goal  in 
activities,  this  is  by  no  means  essential.  Many 
men,  simply  by  following  the  courses  open  to 
them,  have  made  remarkable  records.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  wiser  to  have  some  specific  end  in  view — 
some  office,  not  too  far  beyond  your  present  ca- 
pacity, which  appeals  to  your  ambitions  and  re- 
sults in  experience  enabling  you  to  seize  advance- 
ment when  it  comes. 

Tackling  Detail  Duties 

No  matter  what  branch  of  activities  one  enters, 
there  will  be  at  the  start  considerable  hard  work 
to  be  done.  The  seemingly  insignificant  duties 
must  be  handled  and  performed  satisfactorily,  if 
you  are  to  have  a  chance  later  at  the  worth-while 
positions.  Many  times  these  preliminary  tasks 
are  objectionable,  so  that  you  feel  dissatisfied  with 
the  work  in  hand.  Nevertheless,  keep  your  eyes 
on  the  goal  ahead.  If  it  is  worth  the  effort,  stick 
out  the  grind  of  the  competition  and  fight  unceas- 
ingly to  win. 

The  case  of  a  friend  who  detested  above  all 
else  "ad. -chasing"  for  a  competition  in  which  he 
was  entered  is  to  the  point.  Time  and  again  this 
man  would  visit  the  business  section  of  the  city, 
with  the  intention  of  obtaining  ads.,  and,  because 


n6  TACKLING   TECH. 

of  his  loathing  for  the  task,  would  return  with- 
out having  made  a  single  call.  Finally,  he 
schooled  himself  to  do  the  work,  and  as  the  com- 
petition neared  its  end  he  began  to  make  more 
rapid  progress.  During  the  final  week  he  col- 
lected more  advertisements  than  the  fourth  high- 
est man  had  obtained  throughout  the  whole  time. 
In  the  end  he  actually  broke  all  records  for  the 
number  of  ads.  collected,  and  after  serving  a  year 
as  treasurer  of  the  publication  he  was  finally 
elected  to  the  position  of  editor-in-chief. 

Studying  the  Other  Fellow 

From  first  to  last  many  of  the  most  important 
lessons  you  can  learn  will  come  from  studying 
your  fellows.  This  habit  is  valuable  in  any 
branch  of  your  work  or  play,  but  especially  in 
activities.  Here  you  are  given  countless  oppor- 
tunities to  study  human  nature,  and  by  all  means 
you  will  want  to  make  the  most  of  them.  Sooner 
or  later  you  will  be  given  positions  of  authority 
which  involve  the  control  and  direction  of  men. 
It  will  be  imperative  that  you  handle  these  men 
ably,  and  this  requires  first  that  you  understand 
them.  Moreover,  within  a  short  time  it  is  inevi- 
table that  your  opinion  should  carry  weight  in 
selecting  men  to  fill  your  own  or  other  positions. 

Proficiency  in  judging  and  selecting  men  is  of 


PLAYING   THE   ACTIVITIES    GAME        117 

great  importance,  as  was  especially  necessary  in 
the  case  of  one  position  in  activities  which  I  have 
in  mind.  Here  one  man  was  responsible  for  the 
selection  of  half  a  dozen  committees  and  chair- 
men of  committees,  besides  having  to  appoint 
numerous  other  men  to  special  positions.  The 
larger  the  circle  of  friends  with  which  you  sur- 
round yourself  and  the  clearer  your  perception  of 
ther  characterstics,  the  more  you  will  gain  from 
activities  and  the  more  valuable  service  you  will 
render. 

Getting  the  Habit  of  Success 

There  is  a  trite  old  saying  which  is  even  truer 
here  than  in  most  other  branches  of  college  work, 
that  "nothing  succeeds  like  success."  The  atti- 
tude to  assume  in  attacking  your  problems  is  to 
determine  to  make  good  in  your  every  undertak- 
ing. You  will  thus  continually  gain  ability  to 
handle  successfully  larger  and  larger  responsi- 
bilities. 

One  of  the  most  successful  men  I  have  known 
in  college  activities  was  exceptionally  quiet  and 
unassuming  in  his  manner,  but  had  the  remark- 
able gift  of  getting  things  done  with  extraordi- 
nary ease.  This  man  was  most  particular  not  to 
call  any  job  complete  until  its  every  detail  had 
been  worked  out.    He  played  the  game  of  activi- 


n8  TACKLING   TECH. 

ties  skilfully  and  fairly,  and  with  the  strictest  ob- 
servance of  the  rules.  As  a  result  he  was  able  to 
hold  a  commanding  position  among  his  fellows. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HOW  MUCH  TIME  TO  DEVOTE  TO 
ACTIVITIES 

Giving  Activities  Their  Proper  Place 

There  are  at  least  two  arguments  favorable  to 
activities  which  make  them  well  worth  while. 
Every  student  whose  nature  responds  to  their 
competitive  and  social  appeal  will  derive  sufficient 
pleasure  and  recreation  from  activities  to  repay 
him  for  the  time  and  energy  he  expends  on  them. 
In  addition  there  is  the  valuable  training  received, 
and  the  development  of  interests  outside  the 
sphere  of  study.  These  alone,  as  has  been  pointed 
out  in  the  preceding  chapters,  make  some  partici- 
pation in  activities  of  almost  immeasurable  worth, 
especially  to  the  technical  student. 

Nevertheless,  while  it  is  important  that  activi- 
ties be  given  their  proper  place,  studies  should 
come  first.  If  in  your  own  case,  for  example,  you 
are  attending  a  technical  school,  your  primary 
motive  is  not  to  gain  experience  in  activities,  no 
matter  how  valuable  you  may  consider  this  ex- 
perience to  be.  The  first  reason  for  coming  to 
such  a  school  is  to  gain  a  thorough  knowledge 
regarding  the  principles  and  practice  of  Mechani- 
119 


120  TACKLING   TECH. 

cal  Engineering,  Electrical  Engineering,  or  some 
similar  profession.  This  cannot  be  done  if  the 
time  spent  on  activities  is  allowed  to  interfere  too 
seriously  with  studies. 

Every  man  who  goes  out  for  activities  assures 
himself  that  he  knows  the  secret  of  keeping  them 
in  their  place.  Nevertheless,  there  are  few  men 
that  are  not  open  to  criticism  on  this  score.  The 
excellent  "point  systems"  which  have  been 
adopted  in  so  many  schools  cannot  be  too  closely 
observed  nor  too  strictly  enforced.  Besides  this 
check,  each  man  must  study  his  own  case  care- 
fully. To  maintain  a  proper  balance  between 
studies  and  activities  is  a  problem  which  is  worthy 
of  your  most  careful  consideration  throughout 
your  course. 

Going  Out  the  First  Year 

Many  men,  upon  entering  a  technical  school 
where  the  courses  are  likely  to  be  rigorous,  hesi- 
tate to  go  out  for  activities  during  their  first  year. 
There  are,  of  course,  the  difficulties  of  getting 
settled  and  becoming  accustomed  to  the  new  en- 
vironment, as  well  as  the  uncertainty  as  to  the 
amount  of  time  required  by  studies.  These  fac- 
tors naturally  cause  a  freshman  to  hesitate  before 
plunging  into  activities  at  the  start.  While  in 
some  cases  good  reasons  may  exist  for  adopting 


HOW    MUCH    TIME   TO    ACTIVITIES       121 

the  policy  of  waiting,  there  are  several  arguments 
which  favor  trying  out  for  activities  in  the  first 
year,  and  these  should  not  be  overlooked. 

While  for  the  most  part  a  student  can  take  up 
any  activity  at  the  beginning  of  his  second  year 
and  have  a  chance  to  make  good  during  the  three 
years  that  follow,  there  are  a  few  activities  which 
require  consistent  work  during  all  four  years. 
Such,  for  example,  is  the  "Tech.  Show"  at  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  When 
this  is  the  case  it  is  imperative  from  the  point  of 
view  of  activities  that  a  student  should  begin 
work  in  them  in  his  first  year.  Nearly  every 
activity  offers  the  best  opportunities  to  the  man 
who  enters  the  game  early  in  his  course,  for  in 
this  way  an  additional  amount  of  experience  is 
gained. 

On  the  whole,  any  man  who  has  been  active  in 
school  affairs  outside  of  his  studies  in  prepara- 
tory schools  can  continue  naturally  to  follow  the 
same  course  without  undue  effort  immediately 
upon  coming  to  college ;  while  a  student  who  has 
neglected  activities  previously  finds  himself  more 
and  more  fearful  of  taking  the  initial  steps  as 
each  year  goes  by.  Hence  in  either  case,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  activities  alone,  greater  bene- 
fits can  be  derived  by  entering  activities  the  first 
year. 


122  TACKLING   TECH. 

Waiting  Until  the  Second  Year 

As  stated  previously,  there  are  also  arguments 
advanced  for  spending  little  or  no  time  on  activi- 
ties during  the  first  year.  Theoretically,  keeping 
out  of  activities  for  the  first  term  or  two  should 
enable  a  man  to  make  a  more  advantageous  start 
in  his  studies.  Except  in  special  cases,  however, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  better  results  can  be  ob- 
tained in  this  way  than  through  a  moderate  par- 
ticipation in  activities.  Statistics  secured  at  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  indicate 
that  the  standing  of  all  students  taking  part  in 
activities  is  actually  higher  on  the  average  than  of 
those  not  taking  part.  It  seems  plausible  to  sup- 
pose that  the  recreational  effect  of  activities  tends 
generally  to  stimulate  the  interests  and  efforts  of 
students  in   studies,  as  well  as   in  other  work. 

It  is  unquestionably  true  that  by  waiting  until 
the  second  year  before  entering  into  activities  a 
student  is  enabled  to  survey  the  field  more  care- 
fully, and  later  to  select  work  which  will  best 
suit  his  particular  inclinations  and  abilities.  At 
the  same  time  the  best  way  to  learn  about  activi- 
ties is  actually  to  take  some  part  in  them. 

The  Danger  of  Overloading 

You  must  decide  for  yourself  when  and  to  what 
extent  you  desire  to  take  part  in  activities.     In 


HOW   MUCH    TIME   TO    ACTIVITIES       123 

general,  it  is  a  wiser  policy  to  begin  moderately 
with  activities  during  your  freshman  year,  than 
to  attempt  to  crowd  too  many  outside  interests 
into  the  remaining  three  years  of  your  training. 
The  work  of  activities  is  in  many  cases  so  fasci- 
nating that  once  a  man  enters  fully  into  the  spirit 
of  the  game  he  is  likely  to  be  swept  completely 
off  his  feet.  There  are  two  situations  in  which 
you  will  repeatedly  find  yourself  with  respect  to 
activities.  Either  you  will  be  working  hard  to 
take  some  larger  part  in  the  game,  or  you  will  be 
struggling  to  avoid  added  responsibilities  and 
to  meet  the  obligations  you  have  already  under- 
taken. The  latter  condition  is  the  more  serious, 
since,  unless  you  are  successful  in  avoiding  the 
severe  burdens  that  may  be  thrust  upon  you,  your 
studies  are  likely  to  be  slighted. 

Temptations  Met 

The  dangers  which  you  will  incur  from  over- 
loading with  both  activities  and  studies  occur  in 
a  number  of  ways.  At  times  when  you  are  carry- 
ing more  than  enough  work  in  activities,  an  op- 
portunity will  appear  for  you  to  take  up  some 
especially  interesting  and  valuable  work.  Or, 
if  you  are  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  game,  you 
will  be  asked  to  perform  some  special  duty  which 
will  open  unusual  opportunities  for  you  in  the  fu- 


124  TACKLING   TECH. 

ture.  It  is  difficult  to  refuse  such  offers,  when  a 
refusal  invariably  means  that  the  opportunity  is 
lost  forever.  Nevertheless,  at  more  opportune 
times  other  openings  will  appear.  The  man  who 
shows  himself  worthy  of  advancement  when  he 
is  ready  to  receive  it  must  also  be  willing  to 
refuse  responsibility  when  he  is  unable  to  shoul- 
der it. 

Another  danger  is  that  of  finding  that  unfore- 
seen requirements,  either  in  studies  or  activities, 
prevent  the  completion  of  important  tasks  which 
must  be  performed  before  a  given  time.  Such, 
for  example,  are  the  clean-up  duties  in  activities 
which  almost  invariably  come  a  week  or  two  be- 
fore exams.  Limit  the  time  which  you  put  on 
activities  near  examination  times  and  at  other 
critical  periods  even  more  carefully  than  you  ordi- 
narily would.  If  necessary,  cut  the  activities  for 
a  time,  and  give  your  entire  attention  to  studies. 

Here,  as  in  later  life,  it  is  the  man  who  can  put 
aside  play  when  it  is  time  for  work,  and  can  for- 
get his  work  when  it  is  time  to  play,  who  will 
succeed  in  the  long  run. 

Avoiding  an  Overload  1 

There  is  a  way  of  avoiding  overloads,  which 
if  used  more  extensively  would  benefit  the  cause 


See  Chapter  II. 


HOW    MUCH   TIME  TO   ACTIVITIES       125 

of  activities  as  a  whole.  This  is  to  turn  over  to 
other  men  not  in  activities  some  of  the  authority 
and  responsibility  which  you  are  able  to  acquire. 
This  will  result  not  only  in  reducing  your  load 
and  in  giving  you  the  experience  of  getting  others 
to  work,  but  will  also  increase  the  number  of  men 
who  take  part  in  activities. 

One  way  to  avoid  putting  too  much  time  on 
activities  is  to  measure  the  time  spent.  Usually 
there  are  between  fifteen  and  twenty  hours  a  week 
available  for  work  other  than  studies.  From  one- 
third  to  one-half  of  this  can  wisely  be  spent  on 
activities.  The  overburdened  schedule  of  activi- 
ties defeats  its  own  purpose.  The  man  who  is  so 
busy  with  detail  duties  that  he  cannot  take  time 
to  think  or  to  exchange  ideas  with  his  fellows, 
neither  gives  nor  obtains  the  maximum  benefits. 
Maintain  control  of  your  machine,  no  matter  how 
interesting  or  exciting  the  race  may  be.  Often 
it  is  necessary  to  apply  the  brakes,  and  sometimes 
even  to  stop.  It  is  the  man  who  drives  steadily 
and  hard,  in  activities  as  well  as  in  studies,  who 
is  bound  to  come  in  strong  at  the  finish. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION  AS  A 
BUSINESS  INVESTMENT1 

Difficulties  and  Advantages  of  the  Comparison 

It  is  difficult  for  some  to  think  of  a  college  or 
a  technical  education  as  a  business  investment. 
The  sacrifices  which  must  be  made  are  usually 
measured  merely  in  terms  of  money  spent.  This 
is  because  several  years  must  pass  after  the  first 
investments  are  made  before  financial  returns  are 
realized.  Many  of  the  returns  are  intangible 
and  uncertain  in  quantity,  so  that  they  can  be 
neither  measured  nor  predicted  with  accuracy. 
For  these  reasons  it  is  not  easy  to  regard  a  tech- 
nical education  as  an  investment,  and  to  look  for- 
ward definitely  to  the  tangible  returns  it  will 
yield. 

Technical   Education  versus   Four  Years'  "Ex- 
perience" 

If  one  is  to  consider  an  education  as  an  invest- 
ment, other  factors  must  be  taken  into  account 
besides  money  expense. 


1  It  should  be  noted  that  it  is  not  the  purpose  in  this  or  in  other 
chapters  of  this  book  to  contrast  the  technical  course  of  training  with 
that  of  a  liberal  arts  education.  While  the  figures  used  are  neces- 
sarily based  upon  graduates  from  a  technical  institution,  much  of 
the  information  here  given  is  equally  applicable  to  men  in  all  universi- 
ties and  colleges. 

126 


EDUCATION    AN    INVESTMENT  127 

The  amount  of  time  and  energy  which  a  stu- 
dent invests,  and  the  amount  of  experience  which 
he  sacrifices,  must  also  be  considered.  To  show 
this  it  is  necessary  to  compare  the  case  of  the 
man  who  attends  an  engineering  school  for  four 
years  with  that  of  the  man  who  begins  his  busi- 
ness career  immediately  after  leaving  high  school. 
When  this  is  done  the  investment  of  the  former 
is  seen  to  be  even  larger  than  might  at  first  be 
supposed. 

Necessary  Assumptions 

In  order  to  make  the  comparison  possible  it  is 
first  necessary  to  make  certain  assumptions  in  re- 
gard to  income  and  expense.  While  the  figures 
used  here  are  arbitrary,  they  have  been  carefully 
considered  and  checked  from  several  angles,  and 
in  all  probability  approximate  closely  the  figures 
for  the  average  individual.  The  assumptions 
made  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  earning  power  of  an  average  high  school 
or  preparatory  school  graduate  upon  leaving  school  is 
placed  at  approximately  $800  annually  ($15  a  week). 
During  the  next  four  years  it  will  be  assumed  that  he 
can  earn  altogether  $3,800  (an  average  of  $18.25  a 
week). 

2.  The  living  expenses  of  the  high  school  graduate 
over  the  period  of  four  years  will  be  placed  at  approxi- 
mately $3,200  (an  average  of  $15.40  a  week). 


128  TACKLING   TECH. 

3.  The  expense  of  a  school  year  at  a  technical  in- 
stitution will  be  considered  as  approximately  $i,200.2 

4.  A  technical  student's  net  savings  for  summer 
work  during  his  four  additional  school  years  may  be 
placed  at  $400. 

Tables  of  Comparison 

On  the  basis  of  the  preceding  assumptions,  the 
following  tables  may  be  drawn  up  and  then 
compared : 

Salaried  Position  for  High  School  Graduate 
Earning  power  at  nineteen,  $800 

Income  Expense 

1  st  year  salary  and  expense $   800  $   800 

2nd    "          "        "           "       900  800 

3rd    "          "        "           "       1,000  800 

4th     "          "        "           "       1,100  800 

Total  income  and  total  expense . . .     $3,800  $3,200 

Difference  between  income  and  expense,  $600 

3  At  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  the  minimum  for 
men  under  ordinary  circumstances  (not  living  at  home,  etc.)  is  be- 
tween $900  and  $1,000  (1922-23).  The  amount  for  living  expense 
ranges  all  the  way  from  these  figures  to  $1,500  or  more.  An  analysis 
of  these  figures  can  be  made  as  follows: 

Tuition    $150-  $300 

Clothing,  laundry,  etc.    125-  200 

Room  rent  100-  175 

Meals    250-  350 

Recreation,  Week-ends,  etc 75-  150 

Books,  Fees,  etc 100-  125 

Travel    and   miscellaneous    100-  200 

Total   $900-$l,500 

The  amount  of  tuition  will  of  course  vary  for  different  schools. 
See  table  in  Chapter  I,  pages  12  and  13. 


EDUCATION   AN   INVESTMENT 


129 


Technical  Education 

Income 

1st  year  total  expense 

2nd     "        "  "      

3rd     "        "  "      

4th     "        u  "      

Interest  expense  at  6%* 

Net  savings  from  summer  work $400 


Expense 

$1,200 

1,200 

1,200 

1,200 

720 


Total  income  and  total  expense . .       $400  $5,520 

Difference  between  income  and  expense,  $5,120 
Difference  in  cost  between  work  for  a  salary  and  obtaining 
a  technical  education,  $5,720  ($5,120  +  $600). 


*  Calculated  as  follows: 

$1,200  x  4  x  6%  =  $288 

1,200   x  3  x   6  =216 

1,200  x  2  x  6  =144 

1,200  x   1  x  6  =        72 

$720 


Computing  the  Difference  in  Cost 

In  this  way  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  determine 
the  difference  in  cost  between  a  technical  educa- 
tion and  four  years  of  work  at  a  salary.  From 
the  above  figures  it  is  evident  that  the  man  who 
chooses  to  obtain  four  years'  experience  rather 
than  a  technical  course  increases  his  assets  by 
$600.  The  man  who  spends  the  four  years  gain- 
ing a  technical  education  decreases  his  assets  by 
$5,120.  The  total  difference  is  therefore  $5,720, 
which  is  in  this  case  the  amount  of  additional  cost 
to  the  man  who  chooses  an  engineering  educa- 
tion. 


130  TACKLING   TECH. 

Calculating   the   Money   Value   of   a   Technical 
Education 

In  addition  to  finding  the  cost  of  a  technical 
education,  it  is  interesting  to  compute  what  such 
a  training  may  be  worth  to  an  average  student. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  table  opposite  that  the 
present  value  of  the  income  of  the  average  techni- 
cal graduate  is  approximately  $38,700.  The  signi- 
ficance of  the  term  "present  value"  is  as  follows : 
If  the  sum  of  $1,390,  for  ex?  triple,  should  be  set 
aside  for  a  student  at  the  time  of  his  graduation, 
and  if  the  interest  upon  this  were  compounded 
annually  at  6  per  c^nt,  the  amount  of  money 
available  from  this  iund  after  twenty-five  years 
would  be  $6,000.  This  is  the  amount  estimated 
to  be  his  salary  for  that  year.  Hence  the  "present 
value"  of  a  $6,000  income  which  should  be  re- 
ceived twenty-five  years  hence  is  $1,390.  As 
shown  by  the  table,  the  sum  of  all  the  present 
values  for  the  twenty-five-year  period  gives  the 
total  present  value  of  the  income  to  be  received. 3 

In  the  same  table  the  present  value  of  the  sal- 
ary  of  a  high  school  graduate  four  years  out  of 
school  is  also  shown.  The  difference  between  the 
mean  values  of  the  two  series  of  income  is 
$13,371.    That  is,  during  the  four  years  that  the 


3  The  method  and  figures  used  in  the  table  are  conservative.  In 
some  cases  the  income  received  would  be  several  times  as  great  as 
shown. 


EDUCATION   AN   INVESTMENT 


131 


Present  Value  of  Income  Over  a  Period  of 
Twenty-five  Years. 


High  School  Graduate 

Technical  Graduate* 

Range  of 

Present 

Years  Out 

Range  of 

Present 

Income 

Valuest 

of  School 

Income 

Valuest 

Age 

$1,200- $1,300 

$I,I30-$I,220 

| 

22 

I 

$I,20O-$I,5O0 

$i,i30-$i,4io 

1,300-  1,400 

I,I50-    1,240 

6 

23 

2 

1,500-  1,800 

1,300-  1,600 

1,400-  1,600 

I,I70-    1,340 

7 

24 

3 

1,800-  2,100 

1,510-  1,760 

1,500-  1,700 

I,I90-   1,340 

8 

25 

4 

2,100-  2,400 

1,660-  1,900 

1,600-  1,800 

I,I90-    1,340 

9 

26 

5 

2,200-  2,600 

1,640-  1,940 

1,700-  1,900 

I,I90-    1,330 

10 

27 

6 

2,400 — 2,800 

1,690-  1,970 

1,800-  2.000 

I,I90-   1,330 

11 

28 

7 

2,600-  3,000 

1,730-  1,990 

1,900-  2,100 

I,I90-    I,3IO 

12 

29 

8 

2,800-  3,200 

1,750-  2,040 

2,000-  2,200 

I,l8o-    1,300 

13 

30 

9 

3,000-  3,400 

1,780-  2,130 

2,000-  2,300 

1,160-    I,30O 

14 

31 

10 

3,200-  3,600 

1,790-  2,140 

2,000-  2,400 

1,050-    1,270 

!S 

32 

11 

3,500-  4,000 

1,840-  2,110 

2,000-  2,500 

994-    1,200 

16 

33 

12 

3,500-  4,200 

1,740-  1,990 

«    _      ■ 

939-    1,170 

17 

34 

13 

■   _     « 

1,640-  1,880 

«    _      ■ 

885-   I,IIO 

18 

35 

14 

■   _      « 

i,5SO-  i,77o 

a     _       a 

834-    1,040 

19 

36 

15 

*    _      « 

1,460-  1,670 

2,000-   3,OO0 

788-    I,l80 

20 

37 

16 

a     _       a 

1,380-  1,580 

■     _       <* 

743-  1,110 

21 

38 

17 

a     _        « 

1,300-  1,470 

«     _       a 

701-  1,050 

22 

39 

18 

a    _       « 

1,230-  1,400 

«     _       « 

661-      994 

23 

40 

19 

a    _       a 

1,160-  1,320 

■     _       « 

623-      936 

24 

41 

20 

3,500-   5,200 

1,090-  1,620 

a     _       ■ 

588-      882 

25 

42 

21 

a     _       a 

1,030-  1,530 

■     _       u 

556-      831 

26 

43 

22 

*     _        « 

972-  1,450 

■     _       • 

523-      786 

27 

44 

23 

■     _       « 

915-  1,360 

«     _       « 

494-      741 

28 

45 

24 

■     _        « 

864-  1,290 

«     _       « 

465-      700 

29 

46 

25 

3,500-  6,000 

815-  1,390 

Totals 

$22,584-^28,210 

$38,768 

Totals 

£34,987-£42,58o 

25,397 

Mean 

$25,397 

i 

£i3,37i 

Mean 

$38,768 

Difference 

*Although  figures  for  college  graduates  are  not  available,  the  above  could 
probably  apply  with  only  slight  changes. 

tThese  values  are  calculated  on  6%  basis,  compounded  annually,  accurate 
to  three  places. 


l32  TACKLING   TECH. 

technical  student  has  spent  in  gaining  his  further 
training  he  has  added  over  $13,000  to  the  value 
of  the  income  he  may  expect  to  receive.  This 
amount  we  shall  now  consider  to  be  the  actual 
additional  value  to  the  student  of  the  investment 
he  has  made. 

What  It  Costs  to  Loaf 

An  interesting  computation  can  now  be  made 
of  the  cost  and  value  of  the  available  working 
hours  of  the  day.  In  other  words,  we  can  now 
determine  what  it  costs  an  average  student  to 
loaf! 

In  Chapter  II  it  was  shown  that  any  student 
will  have  difficulty  in  finding  more  than  65  hours 
of  available  time  for  work  each  week.  Assuming 
that  there  are  thirty  weeks  in  the  school  year,  we 
find  that  the  actual  cost  of  each  available  hour 
is  something  over  70  cents.  ($5,720/65  X  30  X  4 

=  $73-) 

The  value  of  a  working  hour  can  also  be  com- 
puted, based  upon  the  present  value  of  the  addi- 
tional income  during  the  first  twenty-five  years 
after  graduation.  The  figure  for  this  is  approxi- 
mately $1.70.   ($13,371/65  X  30  X  4  =  $1.7*0 

These  figures  should  be  kept  in  mird  by  stu- 
dents when  considering  the  advisability  of  obtain- 
ing outside  work  while  in  college.     The  remu- 


EDUCATION   AN   INVESTMENT  133 

neration  received  for  such  work  is  frequently  less 
than  50  cents  an  hour.  There  are,  ot  course, 
some  cases  where  earning  a  little  money  in  this 
way  may  be  advisable  or  a  matter  of  necessity. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the 
spending  of  a  large  amount  of  time  in  this  way  is 
almost  sure  to  be  a  poor  business  policy.  As 
shown  above,  the  cost  of  the  time  for  an  average 
student  is  one  and  a  half  times  the  probable 
earnings,  while  its  value  under  the  same  condi- 
tions is  more  than  double  the  cost. 

What  It  Costs  to  Cut  Classes 

Incidentally  the  following  points  are  worthy 
of  note.  If  the  entire  burden  of  expense  during 
the  school  year  be  charged  to  class  hours  it  is 
found  that  the  cost  of  one  class  hour  is  over  $2.'4 
The  assumption  that  classes  should  be  charged 
with  the  entire  expense  might  be  questioned,  since 
much  valuable  training  may  be  derived  in  other 
ways  from  the  school  connection.  Nevertheless, 
the  gaining  of  a  technical  training  is  the  primary 
motive  for  attending  a  technical  school,  and  it  is 
for  this  that  the  student  pays.  And  the  value  of  a 
class  hour,  based  upon  the  future  income,  is  even 
greater;  it  is  approximately  $4.75.    ($13,371/700 


4  This  is  based  upon  an  average  of  700  class  hours,  as  at  the  Mas- 
sachusetts   Institute    of    Technology.       ($5,720/700  x  i  =  $2.04.) 


i34  TACKLING   TECH. 

X  4  =  $4.77.)  With  the  cost  and  the  value  in  dol- 
lars alone  of  each  class  hour  so  high,  students 
would  do  well  to  consider  carefully  the  advisa- 
bility of  cutting  classes. 

Does  the  Investment  Pay? 

In  summing  up  the  calculations  made  for  the 
cost  and  value  in  dollars  of  a  typical  technical 
education,  interesting  conclusions  develop.  The 
cost  of  the  four  years  of  additional  training, 
compared  with  the  four  years  spent  by  the  high 
school  graduate  working,  was  seen  to  be  $5,720. 
At  the  time  of  graduation  for  the  technically 
trained  man,  the  value  of  his  income  for  the  next 
twenty-five  years  had  been  increased  by  $13,300. 
A  gain  of  approximately  $7,500  in  the  present 
value  of  the  income  over  and  above  all  additional 
expense  had  been  made,  therefore,  by  taking  the 
technical  course.  ($13,300  —  $5,720  =  $7,580.) 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  overem- 
phasize the  money  value  of  either  a  college  or  a 
technical  education  at  the  expense  of  the  many 
other  benefits  which  are  to  be  derived  from  such 
courses  of  training.  At  a  recent  dinner  of  a  class 
of  technical  graduates  at  their  thirty-fifth  reunion, 
nearly  half  of  the  fifty-six  members  of  the  class 
were  present.  It  is  at  such  times  that  the  broader 
value  to  men  of  four  years  of  intensive  training 


EDUCATION   AN   INVESTMENT  135 

and  of  their  association  together  is  brought  to 
light.  It  could  not  be  said  that  it  was  the  amount 
of  the  salaries  received  which  brought  the  great- 
est feeling  of  satisfaction.  As  each  man  was 
called  up  to  rise  and  give  in  his  own  words  a  brief 
history  of  his  experiences  since  graduation,  the 
deepest  gratification  came  from  the  thought  that 
each  and  every  one  had  been  of  some  signal  ser- 
vice, not  only  to  those  who  had  given  him  his  edu- 
cation, but  also  to  his  country.  It  is  the  promise 
of  such  accomplishment,  coupled  with  the  incen- 
tive of  assured  financial  returns,  which  in  the  last 
analysis  prove  that  either  a  technical  or  college 
education  is  a  sound  investment. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FINANCING  AN  EDUCATION 

Making  the  Two  Ends  Meet 

In  every  engineering  school  or  college  there 
are  men  who  need  to  have  no  concern  over  finan- 
cial matters  during  the  time  they  are  in  school 
and  other  men  to  whom  the  problem  of  financing 
an  education  is  of  primary  importance.  Those 
in  the  second  group  must  give  careful  considera- 
tion to  the  various  ways  and  means  of  making 
ends  meet,  for  only  by  careful  thought  can  they 
select  the  methods  that  meet  their  special  needs. 

The  problem  of  financing  an  education  divides 
itself  primarily  into  two  parts :  first,  the  question 
of  obtaining  money ;  second,  that  of  cutting  down 
expenses.  This  chapter  considers  the  problem 
of  securing  the  necessary  funds. 

Importance  of  Good  Marks — Scholarships 

The  man  who  undertakes  to  go  through  col- 
lege or  a  technical  institution  under  difficult 
financial  conditions  often  does  not  realize  until 
too  late  the  importance  of  maintaining  a  clear 
record  in  his  studies.     In  this  regard  he  will  be 

136 


FINANCING   AN   EDUCATION  137 

wise  to  aim  as  high  as  possible,  and  to  try  def- 
initely for  a  scholarship.  There  is  a  closer  rela- 
tion than  is  usually  realized  between  maintaining 
good  marks  in  studies  and  reducing  the  cost  of 
an  education  to  a  minimum. 

In  the  first  place,  scholarships  offer  an  excel- 
lent source  of  income,  for  aside  from  the  extra 
studying  necessary  to  obtain  good  marks  no  addi- 
tional time  is  consumed  in  trying  for  a  scholar- 
ship. This  is  really  an  important  consideration, 
since,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  a  man's  time  in 
college  is  very  valuable.  Any  extra  time  spent  in 
studying  is  certainly  not  to  be  considered  wasted. 

The  amount  provided  by  scholarships  varies 
widely  with  different  schools,  and  with  the  con- 
ditions surrounding  each  case.  Scholarships  are, 
however,  usually  large  enough  to  make  quite  a 
reduction  in  the  yearly  expense.  At  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  out  of  331  men 
who  applied  for  scholarships  in  192 1  more  than 
half  received  a  grant,1  and  the  average  amount  of 
a  scholarship  was  approximately  $155. 

The  Additional  Cost  of  Making  Up  Failures 

For  the  man  who  finds  it  difficult  to  make  ends 
meet,   there  is   another   reason   why   he   should 


1  Both  the  marks  and  the  needs  of  each  applicant  are  carefully  con- 
sidered in  the  granting  of  all  scholarships  at  the  Massachusetts  In- 
stitute of  Technology. 


138  TACKLING  TECH. 

"play  safe"  in  regard  to  his  studies.  This  is  the 
fact  that  if  he  fails  in  his  work  he  must  either  at- 
tend summer  school  or  return  for  a  fifth  year. 
These  are  doubly  expensive  propositions,  for  in 
either  case  a  man  should  be  earning  and  saving 
money  instead  of  paying  money  out.  The  calcu- 
lation below  shows,  by  comparing  the  expense  of 
summer  school  for  six  weeks  with  working  the 
same  length  of  time,  that  the  former  may  easily 
represent  an  added  investment  of  $250. 

Summer   School 
Expenses : 

Tuition    (estimated) $65.00 

Living  and  miscellaneous 135-00 

Total   $200.00 

Income    o 

Net  expense ' $200.00 

Summer  Work 
Expenses : 

Living  and  miscellaneous $100.00 

Income : 

Earnings 150.00 

Net  savings $  50.00 

Difference  in  cost $250.00 

Borrowing  Money  for  an  Education 

There  are  many  serious  misconceptions  among 
college  students  in  regard  to  the  question  of  bor- 


FINANCING   AN    EDUCATION  139 

rowing  money  for  financing  a  higher  education. 
These  misconceptions  often  lead  men  to  handi- 
cap themselves  in  obtaining  what  they  should 
from  a  college  or  technical  training.  When 
Shakespeare  put  into  the  mouth  of  Polonius  the 
admonition,  "Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender 
be,"  he  never  intended  that  it  should  apply  to  the 
student  who  borrows  for  the  sake  of  investment. 
True,  care  must  be  taken  that  through  borrow- 
ing one  does  not  "dull  the  edge  of  husbandry/' 
It  is  perhaps  easier  to  go  too  far  in  borrowing, 
once  the  way  is  opened,  than  not  to  borrow  at  all. 
On  the  whole  the  problem  of  the  student  who 
must  finance  his  own  education  is  not  to  decide 
whether  or  not  he  should  borrow,  but  to  deter- 
mine where,  when,  and  how  much  he  can  borrow, 
without  too  heavily  discounting  his  future. 

Ways  of  Borrowing  While  in  College 

The  three  most  hopeful  sources  of  income  for 
men  who  wish  to  borrow  money  for  a  college  edu- 
cation are :  friends  and  relatives,  school  funds, 
and  business  men  who  may  be  interested  to  lend 
assistance  in  particular  cases.  Without  any  act- 
ual proof  of  ability  to  make  good  in  a  technical 
school  or  college  it  is  often  difficult  for  a  pro- 
spective student  to  obtain  a  loan.  Much  may 
often  be  accomplished  among  his  closer  friends 


l4o  TACKLING  TECH. 

and  relatives,  however,  since  they  are  the  ones 
best  informed  as  to  his  ability  and  character.  A 
small  loan  at  the  beginning  can  generally  be  used 
as  an  opening  wedge  for  obtaining  further  assist- 
ance when  needed.  The  one-year  program  is  one 
of  the  best  bases  upon  which  to  approach  a  busi- 
ness man  for  a  loan.  It  is  considered  more  in 
detail  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

It  is  often  quite  possible  for  a  student  to  ap- 
proach a  business  man  who  has  the  facilities  for 
obtaining  money  and  to  persuade  him  to  lend 
needed  assistance.  Usually  such  a  man  under- 
stands the  risks  involved  and  will  want  some 
reasonable  assurance  of  the  success  of  such  a 
venture.  This  can  often  be  obtained  from  a  study 
of  past  records,  or  from  a  showing  made  in  six 
months  or  a  year's  work  outside  of  school. 

Reducing  the  Risk 

After  a  student  has  been  successful  in  obtain- 
ing a  loan  for  educational  purposes,  both  he  and 
the  one  from  whom  the  loan  is  secured  will  do 
well  to  reduce  all  possible  risks  to  a  minimum. 
One  way  of  accomplishing  this  is  to  take  out  a 
life  insurance  policy  for  the  student,  payable  to 
the  creditor,  making  the  face  of  the  policy  at  least 
equal  to  the  amount  of  money  borrowed.  By 
deducting  the  amount  of  the  premiums  from  the 


FINANCING  AN   EDUCATION  141 

loan  when  it  is  made,  the  premiums  may  be  paid 
in  advance.  The  best  means  of  reducing  the  pos- 
sibility of  failure  by  the  student,  as  well  as  the 
risk  of  loss  by  the  creditor,  is  to  free  the  student 
from  all  handicaps,  such  as  the  necessity  for 
earning  money  or  for  cutting  down  too  closely 
on  living  expenses,  during  the  first  school  year. 

Borrowing  Too  Little 

While  visiting  a  university  in  New  York  State 
recently  I  came  across  an  old  high  school  ac- 
quaintance who  was  working  his  way  through 
college.  He  was  then  just  finishing  his  sopho- 
more year.  During  his  freshman  year,  if  the 
scholarship  he  had  been  granted  were  taken  into 
account,  he  had  actually  earned  enough  money  to 
pay  all  expenses  and  to  go  home  with  $25  in 
his  pocket.  His  miscellaneous  expenditures,  he 
told  me,  averaged  less  than  $1  a  month!  In  his 
second  year  he  was  granted  a  larger  scholarship 
and  with  this  added  assistance  he  was  able  to  save 
the  sum  of  $50  between  December  and  April. 
The  time  he  had  spent  on  outside  work  each  week 
was  over  twenty  hours.  His  remuneration  had 
amounted  to  $2  a  week  plus  room  and  board,  or 
approximately  $I2.2 

2  This  figure  might  be  considered  rather  high  for  some  institutions. 
Between  $9  and  $11  can  be  earned  on  similar  work  at  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology. 


142  TACKLING  TECH. 

This  fellow,  who  was  of  German  descent,  un- 
doubtedly carried  industry  and  frugality  to  the 
extreme.  The  point  I  wish  to  make  is  that  he  did 
so  under  the  firm  conviction  that  his  method  was 
the  very  best  possible.  In  fact,  it  was  the  only 
way,  as  he  saw  it,  for  him  to  gain  a  college  edu- 
cation without  putting  himself  under  objection- 
able obligation  to  anyone.  At  the  end  of  his  first 
year  he  had  been  given  several  opportunities  to 
borrow  as  much  money  as  he  might  have  needed. 
The  usual  feeling  that  such  borrowing  was  un- 
desirable influenced  him  very  strongly,  however, 
and  he  refused  to  accept  the  offer. 

An  Unwise  Policy 

I  felt  at  the  time,  and  still  feel,  that  the  policy 
of  my  friend  was  not  wise.  He  was  satisfying 
the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  it  is  true,  but  he 
was  losing  out  every  day  on  opportunities  which 
could  easily  have  been  his  and  which  would  never 
come  to  him  again.  A  loan  of  $300  annually 
after  the  first  year  would  have  placed  him  com- 
paratively on  "easy  street."  It  would  have  given 
him  twelve  or  fifteen  hours  a  week  for  things 
other  than  outside  work.  The  advantage  of  fra- 
ternity life,  of  societies,  of  training  in  certain  ac- 
tivities, and  of  the  thousand  and  one  other  oppor- 
tunities of  college  life  to  obtain  breadth  and  en- 


FINANCING   AN   EDUCATION  143 

joyment  might  all  have  been  his.  Like  so  many 
others  under  similar  circumstances,  he  was  too 
busy  earning  money  to  perceive  what  he  was 
missing. 

Borrowing  Too  Much 

A  contrasting  case  is  that  of  a  man  who  at- 
tended a  preparatory  school  for  two  years  and  an 
expensive  technical  institution  Tor  four,  all  on 
borrowed  funds.  At  the  time  oi  his  graduation 
from  the  technical  school  the  entire  amount  of 
his  indebtedness  was  more  than  $^,500.  Need- 
less to  say  this  man,  handicapped  with  such  a 
debt,  soon  found  himself  facing  a  serious  situa- 
tion. The  table  shown  in  Figure  5,  based  upon 
the  income  of  an  average  technical  graduate  and 
the  estimated  expenses  of  the  man  in  question, 
shows  that  for  the  first  few  years  still  more 
money  must  be  borrowed,  in  order  to  sustain  the 
interest  payments  on  this  debt.  According  to 
the  estimates,  the  full  amount  of  the  loan  could 
not  be  paid  off  until  fifteen  years  after  gradua- 
tion. 

Students  or  parents  borrowing  funds  for  edu- 
cational purposes  should  be  able  to  determine  the 
number  of  years  it  will  take  after  graduation  to 
repay  the  amount  of  their  indebtedness.  By  fol- 
lowing the  directions  given  below  similar  calcu- 


144 


TACKLING  TECH. 


lations  can  be  made  for  any  case.  The  value  of 
such  a  table  lies,  not  so  much  in  the  possibility 
of  its  being  followed  exactly,  as  in  showing  the 
borrower  approximately  where  he  stands. 


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Figure  5.    Table  Showing  Time  Taken  to  Repay  Loan 


Directions  for  Computing  Payment  of  Loan 

1.  The  probable  earnings  are  first  filled  in  for  as 
many  years  as  necessary. 

2.  The  probable  living  expenses  are  next  inserted, 
as  is  also  the  amount  of  insurance  payments  for  each 
year. 


FINANCING   AN   EDUCATION  145 

3.  The  amount  of  the  present  indebtedness  is  placed 
in  the  column  headed  "Amount  of  Loan." 

4.  The  interest  to  be  paid  on  the  loan  for  one  year 
is  then  calculated  and  placed  in  the  column  headed 
"Interest." 

5.  The  figures  for  the  "Totals"  columns  are  filled 
in  for  the  first  year.  The  total  income  is  the  earnings 
plus  any  other  receipts.  The  total  expense  is  living 
expense  plus  the  payments  on  insurance,  interest,  etc. 

6.  The  necessary  increase  or  possible  decrease  of 
the  loan  for  the  following  year  is  then  calculated  and 
this  amount  recorded  in  the  column  headed  "Deposits 
and  Withdrawals." 

7.  Steps  (1)  and  (2)  are  then  repeated  for  the 
following  year,  and  the  new  amount  of  the  loan  is 
filled  in  as  noted  under  (3).  The  calculations  may  be 
continued  in  the  same  manner  indefinitely  until  the 
year  %is  reached,  when  all  indebtedness  is  removed. 
The  capital  necessary  to  carry  the  loan  is  shown  as  a 
bank  balance.  While  this  money,  if  actually  on  hand, 
should  be  reinvested  to  yield  from  4  to  6  per  cent  in- 
terest, the  accuracy  of  the  other  estimates  does  not 
warrant  adding  these  interest  payments  to  the  income. 

Earning  Money  in  College 

There  is  one  advantage  of  earning  money  in 
college  which  cannot  well  be  overlooked.  This 
is  the  fact  that  men  who  earn  all  or  part  of  their 
living  and  collegiate  expenses  are  continually  im- 
pressed with  the  cost  of  their  education  to  them, 
in  terms  of  their  own  services.    This  almost  in- 


146  TACKLING   TECH. 

evitably  has  the  effect  of  making  a  man  anxious 
to  get  the  most  out  of  what  he  receives. 

It  might  be  safe  to  say  that  every  man  would 
appreciate  more  the  value  of  an  education  if  he 
were  made  to  earn  each  year  a  part  of  the  money 
required  to  pay  his  expenses.  It  is  equally  safe 
to  add  that  under  ordinary  circumstances  a  man 
makes  a  mistake  in  trying  to  earn  any  very  large 
percentage  of  this  money  during  the  school  year. 
A  man  in  college  or  technical  school  who  cannot 
make  his  time  while  there  more  valuable  than  50 
cents  or  $1  an  hour,  ought  to  find  his  occupation 
elsewhere. 

There  are  rare  cases  where  a  man  will  be  so 
well  repaid  either  in  money  or  experience  gained 
that  he  will  actually  be  well  repaid  for  giving 
up  a  considerable  amount  of  his  time  to  outside 
work.  I  have  in  mind  the  case  of  a  man  in  a 
small  eastern  college  who  managed  the  school 
bookstore  for  three  years.  In  addition  to  the 
salary  and  commissions,  which  together 
amounted  to  about  $600  during  the  year,  this 
position  gave  an  excellent  opportunity  for  expe- 
rience in  selling  and  in  many  other  phases  of 
business.  A  comparatively  small  amount  of  time 
was  spent,  and  the  wages  received  averaged  over 
$2  an  hour. 

Men  who  can  develop  special  talent,  such  as 


FINANCING   AN   EDUCATION  147 

musical  ability,  fall  into  the  same  category.  Tu- 
toring also  offers  special  opportunities,  since  it 
can  be  made  to  yield  returns  in  valuable  expe- 
rience and  training  as  well  as  in  substantial  re- 
muneration. Such  occupations,  when  they  yield 
especially  attractive  compensation,  may  actually 
be  worth  while. 

In  most  institutions,  however,  there  are  few- 
such  opportunities,  and  the  most  that  can  be 
squeezed  from  outside  work  is  between  35  and 
60  cents  an  hour.  It  is  difficult  on  this  basis 
to  make  earnings  amount  to  more  than  $9  to  $11 
a  week.  In  general,  there  are  too  many  other 
things  in  which  time  can  and  should  be  well  in- 
vested— such  as  friends,  activities,  and  studies — 
to  make  the  "odd  job"  pay. 

Summary — A  One-Year  Program 

In  summing  up  the  methods  of  making  the  two 
ends  meet,  we  find  first  that  a  student  pressed  for 
funds  should  watch  with  special  care  his  stand- 
ing in  his  studies.  By  doing  this  he  will  be  better 
able  not  only  to  win  a  possible  scholarship,  but 
also  to  complete  his  course  in  the  allotted  time. 
The  second  best  means  of  obtaining  money  is  to 
borrow,  but  this  should  be  done  only  up  to  a 
conservative  amount.  Great  care  should  be  taken 
to  maintain  personal  credit  by  prompt  payments 


148  TACKLING  TECH. 

of  interest  and  principal.  And  finally,  earning 
money  during  the  school  year,  while  it  has  cer- 
tain advantageous  effects,  may  be  considered  on 
the  whole  to  be  a  doubtful  policy,  especially  when 
carried  to  the  extreme. 

No  matter  how  carefully  students  and  parents 
may  analyze  the  facts  and  conditions,  there  will 
always  be  those  who  are  uncertain  as  to  whether 
the  resources  available  are  adequate.  The  require- 
ments of  a  technical  school,  especially,  cannot  be 
considered  easy  to  meet.  When  doubt  exists  the 
trial  and  error  method  is  one  of  the  best  to  apply. 

A  student  who  can  put  himself  through  his 
first  year,  unhampered  by  financial  difficulties, 
on  his  own  resources  and  those  of  his  parents, 
should  do  so.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to 
free  him  from  the  necessity  of  working  or  of  se- 
curing additional  funds  during  the  year.  When 
this  is  done  the  chances  for  both  immediate  and 
final  success  are  greatly  improved.  After  one 
year,  or  better  still  two  years,  have  been  com- 
pleted successfully,  it  is  far  easier  to  approach  an 
outsider  for  assistance  in  order  to  complete  the 
course.  Even  though  apparent  failure  should  re- 
sult, maximum  benefits  will  be  derived  from 
what  will,  in  the  long  run,  prove  to  be  a  minimum 
expenditure  of  time  and  money. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PERSONAL  FINANCES   AND   EXPENSE 
ACCOUNTS1 

The  sooner  you  adjust  your  spending  to  what  your 
earning  capacity  will  be,  the  easier  they  will  find  it  to 
live  together. — "Letters  from  a  Self-Made  Merchant 
to  His  Son." 

Why  Keep  an  Expense  Account? 

It  very  often  happens  that  a  student  will  go  to 
considerable  trouble  to  keep  an  expense  account 
without  apparently  any  definite  reasons  for  doing 
so — unless  it  is  by  order  of  his  parents!  Not 
long  ago  I  was  talking  with  a  man  who  had  just 
completed  his  freshman  year  in  a  technical  school. 
He  had  kept  a  careful  expense  account  throughout 
the  year,  yet  he  admitted  he  did  not  know  why 
he  had  done  so.  There  are  some  very  good  rea- 
sons for  keeping  an  account  of  your  expenses, 
and  they  are  well  worth  keeping  in  mind. 

Budgeting  Your  Expenses 

A  very  good  reason  why  you  should  keep  an 
expense  account  is  to  help  you  to  plan  or  "budget" 
your    finances.      Many    students    whose    money 

1  In  compiling  this  chapter  the  author  is  indebted  to  Messrs.  E.  G. 
Plowman,  J.  B.  Baker,  and  Professor  M.  J.  Shugrue  of  the  Eco- 
nomics Department  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and 
to  Mr.  H.  B.  Mclntyre,  Class  of  1922,  and  Professor  E.  E.  Bugbee, 
Department  of  Mining. 

149 


l5o  TACKLING   TECH. 

comes  from  home  run  short  of  cash  several  times 
during  a  term.  This  is  because  they  do  not  look 
ahead  in  the  matter  of  finances.  It  is  just  as  im- 
portant to  plan  your  finances  as  to  plan  your 
time,  your  energy,  or  your  work. 

In  business,  financial  planning  is  done  by 
means  of  a  budget.  A  good  personal  expense 
account  serves  as  an  individual  budget.  It  will 
help  you  to  adopt  businesslike  methods  in  han- 
dling your  finances  and  by  its  aid  you  can  plan 
your  income,  your  expenditures,  and  your  savings 
in  advance. 

Satisfaction  from  Businesslike  Methods 

A  second  benefit  which  comes  from  handling 
your  personal  finances  in  a  businesslike  manner 
is  the  personal  satisfaction  to  be  derived.  This 
feeling  of  satisfaction  will  appeal  more  strongly 
to  some  than  to  others,  but  it  is  something  which 
may  well  be  cultivated.  The  greater  advance  you 
make  in  handling  your  financial  affairs  in  an  effi- 
cient, businesslike  manner,  the  greater  the  enjoy- 
ment you  will  derive. 

Practical    Value    of    Knowing    How    to    Keep 
Accounts 

It  is  quite  possible  to  learn  much  regarding 
accounting  methods  from  your  bookkeeping  sys- 


PERSONAL   ACCOUNTS  151 

tern.  A  professor  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology,  who  had  formerly  been  employed 
as  manager  of  a  small  mine,  told  me  of  his  first 
experience  .as  assistant  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
company.  For  several  years  he  had  kept  a  sim- 
ple set  of  books  for  his  personal  accounts.  Shortly 
after  he  began  work  with  the  company  the  treas- 
urer died.  In  the  emergency  the  new  assistant 
was  called  to  take  over  the  company's  books  and 
bring  them  up  to  date.  His  training  as  a  mining 
engineer  gave  him  little  help.  It  was  only 
through  the  knowledge  gained  with  his  own  per- 
sonal accounts,  and  by  relying  upon  the  assump- 
tion that  all  necessary  transactions  must  have 
been  recorded  on  the  books  at  least  once  before, 
that  he  was  able  to  carry  the  work  along.  Later 
he  became  the  acting  treasurer,  and  before  leav- 
ing the  company's  employ,  general  manager. 

No  matter  what  sort  of  specialist  you  may  plan 
to  be,  you  will  also  need  to  know  something  about 
the  handling  of  money.  There  is  scarcely  an 
easier  or  more  profitable  way  of  learning  this 
than  to  keep  an  accurate  account  of  your  own 
personal  finances. 

Employer's  Point  of  View 

Some  employers,  moreover,  place  great  em- 
phasis upon  the  keeping  of  personal  accounts. 


152 


TACKLING   TECH. 


If  you  are  ever  quizzed  in  regard  to  this  when 
applying  for  a  position  you  will  discover  that 
there  is  a  vast  difference  between  the  good  and 
the  bad  impression  which  one  can  make  on  thisv 
point.  The  reason  why  employers  regard  ac- 
curacy in  keeping  personal  finances  as  important 
is  obvious.  If  a  position  is  one  in  which  a  man 
will  be  called  upon  to  keep  in  order  certain  affairs 
of  the  company,  the  employer  knows  that  he  is 
better  suited  to  do  this  if  he  has  learned  how  to 
take  care  of  his  own  affairs.  The  man  who 
handles  his  personal  finances  in  a  slip-shod  man- 
ner is  likely  to  handle  the  company's  business  in 
the  same  way.  It  pays  to  be  careful  about  "little 
things." 

Learning  to  Save  in  College 

A  final  reason  for  keeping  an  expense  account 
is  to  learn  to  be  thrifty  and  to  save  money.  Few 
realize  the  full  significance  of  acquiring  these 
habits  early,  but  the  truth  is  that  if  these  habits 
are  not  acquired  early  in  life  they  are  not  likely 
to  be  acquired  at  all.  By  the  time  a  man  has 
completed  his  college  course  he  should  have 
learned  the  knack  of  saving  a  portion  of  his  in- 
come. 

The  amount  which  you  save  is  not  so  impor- 
tant.    The  question  is  whether  or  not  you  are 


PERSONAL   ACCOUNTS  153 

putting  aside  any  money  out  of  that  which  you 
receive.  If,  by  careful  planning  and  wise  spend- 
ing, you  can  save  10  cents  each  day  you  will  have 
$25.50  at  the  end  of  the  school  year  (35  weeks) 
or  more  than  enough  ordinarily  to  pay  your  doc- 
tor's and  dentist's  bills,  or  to  buy  shoes  and  a 
couple  of  hats.  Twenty  cents  a  day  is  not  a 
great  amount  to  save,  yet  if  you  will  set  this 
aside  each  day  during  your  eight  years  of  high 
school  and  college,  and  allow  the  interest  to  be 
compounded  at  4  per  cent  semiannually,  you  will 
find  a  fund  amounting  to  over  $700  available  at 
the  time  you  graduate. 

There  is  no  time  like  the  present  to  begin  put- 
ting aside  a  few  cents  each  day.  The  right  kind 
of  expense  account  is  often  the  best  possible  aid 
in  doing  this. 

Choosing  an  Accounting  Method  to  Meet  Your 
Needs 

Whether  you  are  in  high  school,  preparatory 
school,  or  college,  an  accounting  method  can  be 
devised  which  will  fit  your  particular  needs.  In 
some  cases  the  best  system  may  be  extremely  sim- 
ple. In  fact,  it  should  never  be  more  complex 
than  absolutely  necessary.  It  is  often  the  case, 
however,  that  the  more  advanced  methods  of 
keeping  accounts  appear  complicated  at  first  sight, 


154  TACKLING   TECH. 

while  in  reality  they  can  be  maintained  more 
easily  and  with  less  expenditure  of  time  than  the 
cruder  methods. 

Eventually  you  will  want  to  develop  for  your 
personal  finances  a  suitable  accounting  system. 
This  will  include  a  method  of  financial  control 
over  daily  expenditures,  together  with  a  series 
of  accounts  to  handle  savings,  borrowed  money, 
etc.  To  develop  such  a  system  requires  consid- 
erable experience.  It  is  essential  that  you  begin 
with  the  simpler  methods  described. 

For  the  man  who  is  just  beginning  to  struggle 
with  the  problems  of  personal  finance,  the  simple 
journal  entry  method  or  the  columnar  expense  ac- 
count is  the  only  one  that  should  be  attempted 
at  the  start.  Read  over  all  the  descriptions  of  ac- 
counting methods  in  this  chapter  before  deciding 
to  adopt  any  particular  plan. 

The  Simplest  Cash  Account — The  Record  Journal 

The  simplest  way  of  recording  expenditures  is 
by  means  of  a  simple  journal.  This  consists  of  a 
suitable  form,  either  in  a  notebook  or  book  or  a 
pocket  fold,  which  provides  for  filling  in  the  date, 
a  description  of  each  transaction,  and  the  amounts 
of  cash  received  or  expended.  A  sample  of  a 
simple  journal  record  is  shown  in  Figure  6. 


PERSONAL   ACCOUNTS 


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156  TACKLING  TECH. 

The  advantages  of  such  an  account  are: 

i.     It  is  simple  and  easily  understood. 

2.  It  gives  full  details  regarding  all  expenditures 
made. 

3.  It  may  be  balanced  as  frequently  or  as  infre- 
quently as  desired. 

The  disadvantages  of  such  an  account  are: 

1.  It  does  not  furnish  any  information  in  regard 
to  the  proportion  of  money  spent  in  various  ways,  as, 
for  example,  the  relative  amounts  spent  on  clothing, 
rent,  food,  etc, 

2.  It  gives  no  knowledge  concerning  the  financial 
status  except  that  it  shows  the  amount  of  cash  on 
hand.  Bank  accounts  or  other  assets  or  liabilities  are 
not  shown. 

3.  Entries  must  be  made  when  the  cash  is  actually 
received  or  expended  in  order  to  insure  accurate  rec- 
ords.   This  is  often  inconvenient  and  impracticable. 

4.  If  the  account  is  infrequently  balanced  the  lia- 
bility of  error  is  great. 

Analyzing  Your  Expenditures 

After  a  simple  journal  record  has  been  care- 
fully kept  for  a  time,  the  desirability  of  making  an 
analysis  of  expenditures  usually  becomes  appar- 
ent. Certain  items,  such  as  those  for  school  sup- 
plies, room  rent,  transportation,  etc.,  appear  to 
fall  readily  into  separate  groups,  and  to  warrant 
segregation  from  other  classes  of  expenditures. 
It  is  not  well  to  carry  the  classification  too  far  at 


PERSONAL   ACCOUNTS  157 

first.  A  simple  analysis  should  be  made  at  the 
start,  which  later  can  be  subdivided  if  necessary. 
Such  a  classification  of  expenditures,  applicable 
to  practically  any  student,  might  be  as  follows : 

Educational  Expense 

Living  Expense  ; 

Recreational  and  Miscellaneous  Expenses 

The  Columnar  Expense  Account 

The  simplest  way  to  obtain  an  analysis  of  your 
personal  expenditures  is  probably  by  means  of 
the  columnar  expense  account.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  describe  here  this  plan  in  detail,  since  any 
number  of  small  columnar  account  books  on  the 
market  outline  it  very  clearly.  In  general  the  col- 
umns in  such  a  book,  taken  from  left  to  right 
across  the  page,  give  space  for  the  date,  cash  re- 
ceipts, remarks,  the  amount  of  cash  disbursed 
under  each  subdivision  of  expense,  and  the. total 
expenditures  for  the  day.  At  the  bottom  of  each 
page  space  should  be  provided  for  totaling  the 
various  columns,  and  for  checking  the  account 
at  the  end  of  the  month. 

One  of  the  primary  purposes  of  a  columnar 
expense  account  is  to  furnish  a  record  of  the  way 
in  which  money  has  been  spent.  In  case  it  is  de- 
sired to  send  such  information  home,  for  example, 
the  complete  account  book,  or  the  loose  leaf  of  a 


158  TACKLING   TECH. 

notebook  on  which  the  record  has  been  kept,  can 
be  sent  through  the  mail  very  readily.  If  the  rec- 
ord is  not  of  the  loose-leaf  type,  it  is  simply  nec- 
essary to  purchase  a  similar  book  to  use  for  the 
following  month,  while  the  first  set  of  records  is 
being  inspected  and  returned. 

Briefly,  the  advantages  of  the  columnar  ac- 
count are : 

1.  It  can  be  operated  by  practically  any  student 
without  the  aid  of  special  knowledge  or  equipment. 

2.  It  gives  a  fairly  complete  record  of  how  money 
is  spent,  with  an  analysis  of  expenditures  as  detailed 
as  desired. 

The  disadvantages  of  columnar  accounts  are: 

i.  It  gives  no  great  incentive  for  saving  and  does 
not  provide  reserves. 

2.  It  is  not  sufficient  for  handling  all  the  problems 
vvhich  arise  in  connection  with  personal  finances,  as, 
for  example,  for  giving  information  in  regard  to  sav- 
ings and  money  borrowed. 

3.  In  order  to  obtain  information  regarding  pro- 
portional expenditures,  monthly  computations  must  be 
made. 

4.  It  must  be  kept  without  fail  from  day  to  day. 

Standardizing  Expenditure  and  Income 

After  having  been  away  at  school  or  college 
a  year  or  two,  you  will  probably  find  that  your 
expenditures    are    made    with    fair    regularity. 


PERSONAL   ACCOUNTS  159 

That  is,  over  the  period  of  a  year  they  pass 
through  approximately  the  same  changes,  and 
for  corresponding  months  they  are  very  similar. 
You  will  have  learned  also  that  over  a  consid- 
erable period  of  time,  such  as  six  months,  a  cer- 
tain per  cent  of  your  income  is  spent  on  each  of 
a  regular  set  of  items.  By  the  time  expenditures 
have  become  standardized  to  this  extent  you  will 
probably  also  be  receiving  a  regular  income. 

Your  next  step  is  then  to  learn  how  to  set 
aside  reserves  for  the  regular  expenditures  and 
for  many  of  the  irregular  ones  which  occur,  and 
thus  to  place  your  finances  on  a  more  businesslike 
basis.  This  problem  which  you  face  is  almost 
identical  to  the  one  you  will  encounter  in  after 
life.  The  sooner  you  prepare  to  meet  such  re- 
quirements the  better. 

A  Financial  Control  Sheet2 

One  of  the  best,  simplest,  and  most  effective 
methods  of  accomplishing  the  desired  results  is 
by  means  of  a  financial  control  sheet.  This 
method,  after  one  has  become  familiar  with  its 
principles,  is  actually  easier  to  operate  than  is 
the  columnar  account.     Though  not  so  accurate 


2  A  detailed  description  of  a  Financial  Control  Sheet  has  been  copy- 
righted by  Professor  Erwin  H.  Schell  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology.     Parts  of  this  are  used  here  by  permission. 


160  TACKLING  TECH. 

in  detail  as  the  latter,  its  results  are  on  the  whole 
more  satisfactory. 

When  properly  laid  out  and  operated,  the 
financial  control  sheet  achieves  the  following 
aims: 

i.  It  gives  you,  in  a  simple,  practical  manner,  facts 
concerning  your  financial  condition  at  the  end  of  each 
day. 

2.  It  provides  you  with  reserve  funds  for  meeting 
oncoming  obligations. 

3.  It  gives  you  opportunity  to  set  standards  of 
daily  savings  and  expenditures  and  provide  informa- 
tion concerning  your  success  or  failure  in  maintaining 
these  standards. 

4.  It  develops  an  incentive  to  spend  wisely  and 
with  foresight. 

Developing  a  Financial  Control  Sheet 

The  first  step  in  making  out  a  financial  con- 
trol sheet  is  to  purchase  a  pad,  or  better  still  a 
suitable  book,  of  columnar-ruled  paper,  having 
from  eleven  to  sixteen  columns  to  the  sheet,  with 
a  space  at  the  left-hand  edge  for  titles.  Such  pa- 
per is  extensively  used  by  accountants  and  may 
be  obtained  at  most  stationery  stores. 

After  you  have  furnished  yourself  with  the 
necessary  materials  (a  slide  rule  at  hand  may 
prove  useful)  you  are  ready  to  lay  out  your  con- 
trol  sheet.      Do   this   first   in   pencil,    as    many 


PERSONAL  ACCOUNTS  161 

changes  will  likely  be  necessary  during  the  first 
month  or  two.  Enter  in  the  left-hand  space  titles 
which  describe  the  subdivisions  of  income  and 
expenditures.  At  first  make  these  similar  to  the 
items  shown  in  Figure  7.  After  running  the 
sheet  for  a  week  or  so  you  will  know  better  what 
changes  to  make. 

Number  the  columns  on  the  sheet  to  corre- 
spond to  the  days  of  the  month.  Then  spread  all 
items,  such  as  "Accruing  Allowance,"  "Room 
Rent,"  "Savings,"  "Reserves,"  etc.,  across  the 
sheet,  as  shown  in  the  sample.  Read  over  very 
carefully  the  detailed  description  of  the  sample 
financial  control  sheet  shown  (see  page  164)  be- 
fore attempting  a  plan  of  your  own,  in  order  that 
you  may  understand  fully  the  principles  and 
methods   involved. 

Description  of  a  Sample  Control  Sheet 

The  financial  control  sheet  is  divided  into  two 
distinct  parts.  The  upper  section  of  the  sheet, 
headed  "Incoming,"  lists  those  items  of  income 
which  are  accruing  to  the  credit  of  the  individual. 
The  lower  section,  headed  "Outgoing,"  lists  the 
items  such  as  "Board  and  Room,"  which  are  ac- 
cruing against  the  individual,  and  which  sooner 
or  later  must  be  paid.  In  the  lower  section  also 
are   being   set   aside   certain   reserves,    such   as 


1 62  TACKLING   TECH. 

"Week-ends  and  Entertainment,"  which  will  be 
reduced  as  money  is  expended  for  items  coming 
under  this  head. 

An  important  point  to  notice  on  the  sample 
sheet  is  that  the  amount  of  $4  just  to  the  right 
of  "Accruing  Allowance,"  which  represents  the 
allowance  accruing  daily  as  income,  is  equal  to 
the  sum  of  the  daily  outgoing  amounts.  ($4  = 
$2  +  .30  +  .30  +  .10  +  .80  +  .20  +  .30.)  A 
similar  equation  should  be  worked  out  as  a  basis 
for  any  control  sheet.  The  use  of  round  numbers, 
as  in  the  above  sample,  obviates  the  use  of  a  slide 
rule,  but  may  require  slight  adjustments  at  the 
end  of  the  month.  It  is  advisable  to  spread  as 
many  of  the  allowances  and  reserves  as  possible 
across  the  page  at  the  beginning  of  each  period, 
in  order  to  reduce  the  chance  of  error. 

A  detailed  description  of  the  transactions  re- 
corded on  the  sample  sheet  is  as  follows  : 

Thursday,  April  1,  Incoming.  The  allowance  for 
April  has  evidently  not  been  received.  The  amount 
of  $120  is  due,  and  appears  opposite  "Accruing  Allow- 
ance" (together  with  the  $4  accrued  for  the  first  day). 
The  figures  opposite  ''Cash  on  Hand,"  "Check  Ac- 
count," and  "Due  from  others,"  are  self-explanatory. 

Outgoing.  The  room  rent  is  not  yet  paid  ($60)  ; 
there  has  been  a  reserve  built  up  for  laundry  and  cloth- 
ing amounting  to  $5.30;  for  week-ends,  etc.,  $3.20;  foy 
church,  etc.,  $2.40 ;  and  for  a  typewriter,  $29.80.    There 


PERSONAL  ACCOUNTS  163 

is  only  a  20-cent  reserve  for  miscellaneous  items.  The 
savings  to  date  have  amounted  to  $12.  One  dollar  is 
due  to  others. 

Friday,  April  2,  Incoming  and  Outgoing.  The  allow- 
ance has  evidently  been  received  and  deposited  in  the 
checking  account  at  the  bank.  This  would  bring  the 
bank  balance  up  to  $232.40,  had  not  a  check  been  drawn 
for  $10,  which  increases  the  cash  on  hand.  Part  of 
the  $10,  however,  was  expended  for  laundry  ($5.30  + 
.30  —  $1.40  =s  $4.20).  Ninety  cents  was  also  spent  on 
miscellaneous  items  (lunch,  candy,  etc.).  No  expendi- 
ture was  made  which  was  not  provided  for  in  the  re- 
serves, so  that  the  balance  for  the  second  day  is  the 
same  as  for  the  first,  $133.03. 

Saturday,  April  3,  Incoming  and  Outgoing.  A  check 
was  evidently  drawn  for  $60  to  pay  the  board  and  room 
bill  for  the  month.  The  week-end  expenditures  for  this 
particular  Saturday  amounted  to  $4.80,  so  that  the 
reserve  for  this  item  was  reduced  to  minus  $1,  shown 
by  drawing  a  circle  around  the  figure  ($3.50  +  .30  — 
$4.80  =  —  $1).  There  was  an  understanding  be- 
tween the  student  and  his  parents  that  as  soon  as  $30 
had  been  reserved  for  a  typewriter  the  remaining  $20 
would  be  forwarded.  The  check  arrived  as  promised, 
and  is  shown  as  the  last  item  of  income,  while  the  re- 
serve for  the  typewriter  is  increased  immediately  to 
$50.  It  should  also  be  noticed  that  the  20  cents  which 
previously  was  being  set  aside  each  day  for  the  type- 
writer reserve  has  now  been  distributed  between 
"Laundry  and  Clothing"  and  "Miscellaneous." 

Saturday,  April  4,  Incoming  and  Outgoing.  A  check 
for  $30  was  placed  with  the  special  check  for  $20  and 


164 


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Figure  7.    Financial  Control  Sheet 


PERSONAL  ACCOUNTS  165 

a  typewriter  was  ordered.  The  $6  due  from  others  was 
received,  and  the  $1  owed  was  paid.  One  dollar  was 
given  to  church  and  80  cents  was  spent  on  miscel- 
laneous items.  This  completed  the  transactions  for 
the  day.  The  final  balance  is  seen  to  have  remained 
the  same  throughout. 

Once  the  control  sheet  is  established  and  the 
standard  for  expenditures  is  set,  the  important 
figures  to  watch  are  the  Balance  and  the  Re- 
serves. If  these  are  approximately  the  same  at 
the  end  of  the  month  as  at  the  beginning  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  income  is  equal  to  the  expenditures 
and  that  the  proper  apportionment  of  expenses 
has  been  made.  If  any  reserve  grows  too  large 
during  the  month  the  daily  allotment  to  that  item 
should  be  reduced,  and  the  amount  thus  made 
available  should  be  then  allotted  to  some  decreas- 
ing reserve  item,  or  to  a  "Savings  Reserve.,, 

At  the  first  of  each  month,  when  a  new  sheet 
is  begun,  a  reasonable  amount  should  be  set  down 
for  each  reserve.  If  the  balance  when  struck  is 
then  too  large,  some  of  the  money  together  with 
any  "Savings  Reserve"  may  be  withdrawn  from 
the  checking  account  and  deposited  elsewhere  as 
savings.  If  the  balance  tends  to  become  smaller 
each  month,  more  funds  must  be  supplied  in  order 
to  make  up  the  deficit. 


l66  TACKLING   TECH. 

Advantages  and  Disadvantages 

Summarizing  the  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  the  financial  plan  outlined  above,  they 
are  seen  to  be  as  follows  : 

Advantages  : 

i.  It  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  proportions  in 
which  money  is  spent  for  various  items  without  the 
need  of  monthly  recapitulations.  In  the  example 
shown,  for  instance,  it  is  evident  at  a  glance  that  ap- 
proximately 73/2  per  cent  of  the  total  income  (.30  -4- 
$4)  is  being  spent  for  laundry  and  clothing,  and  the 
same  proportion  is  also  being  set  aside  for  week-ends 
and  entertainments  and  for  savings. 

2.  It  furnishes  a  strong  incentive  to  make  expendi- 
tures wisely  and  with  forethought,  and  to  save  a  cer- 
tain per  cent  of  the  income. 

3.  There  is  not  the  absolute  necessity  of  making 
entries  on  the  sheet  each  day  without  fail.  Failure  to 
calculate  the  reserves  and  balance  for  one  or  more  days 
omits  the  information  which  these  figures  would  give, 
but  does  not  cause  undue  confusion  in  calculations 
which  follow.  Not  more  than  five  or  ten  minutes  is 
required  each  night  for  making  all  necessary  entries 
and  calculations. 

Disadvantages  : 

1.  In  order  to  use  the  financial  control  sheet  to  best 
advantage  one  should  be  able  to  anticipate  a  certain 
regularity  of  income  and  expense. 

2.  It  requires  some  time  to  become  familiar  with 
this   method.     A   certain   amount   of   time    (approxi- 


PERSONAL   ACCOUNTS  167 

mately  x/2  hour)  is  also  required  at  the  beginning  of 
each  month  to  reapportion  the  reserves  and  to  spread 
the  items  over  the  sheet  for  the  month  following. 

3.  Familiarity  with  the  use  of  the  slide  rule,  so 
that  the  latter  may  be  used  in  calculating  the  daily 
accruing  income  and  expenditures,  is  desirable,  though 
not  absolutely  necessary. 

Double-Entry  Accounting 

As  already  stated,  it  is  well  for  any  student 
to  adopt  sooner  or  later  methods  of  business  ac- 
counting in  handling  at  least  a  part  of  his  per- 
sonal financial  problems.  Nevertheless,  it  is  un- 
wise to  strike  out  blindly  here,  since  many  difficul- 
ties may  be  encountered  which  are  confusing  to 
a  beginner. 

As  a  student  in  college  or  technical  school  you 
should  determine  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  accounting  as  soon  as  possible.  This 
you  may  do  by  taking  either  a  regular  course  or 
a  correspondence  school  course  in  accounting. 
The  subject  matter  is  such  that  many  find  it  very 
difficult  to  learn  accounting  practice  from  the 
study  of  books  alone. 

Do  not  attempt  to  install  any  features  of  double- 
entry  accounting  in  your  personal  accounts  until 
you  have  become  familiar  with  the  underlying 
principles  involved.  On  the  other  hand,  once  you 
have  gained  a  knowledge  of  accounting  methods, 


168  TACKLING   TECH. 

you  will  find  no  better  way  of  clinching  your 
knowledge  than  by  applying  it  to  your  own  per- 
sonal accounts.  The  use  of  some  of  the  books 
listed  in  the  bibliography  at  the  end  of  this  chap- 
ter, together  with  instructions  or  suggestions 
from  men  familiar  with  such  practice  in  business, 
will  prove  of  assistance  in  getting  started  on  this 
work. 

Simple  Double-Entry  Accounts 

The  operation  of  double-entry  accounts  can  be 
shown  very  well  in  connection  with  the  perma- 
nent maintenance  of  a  financial  control  sheet  or 
other  personal  accounting  record.  The  most  sat- 
isfactory means  of  combining  the  control  method 
with  a  set  of  ledger  accounts  requires  the  use  of 
two  adjustment  or  intermediate  accounts.  These 
may  be  termed  the  "Allotment  Account"  and  the 
"Control  Sheet  Account/ '  At  first  sight  the  cor- 
relation by  this  means  may  appear  cumbersome. 
In  reality,  further  simplification  causes  confusion, 
while  the  maintaining  of  two  accounts  adds  noth- 
ing to  the  work  of  keeping  the  books.  Examples 
of  an  Investment  Account  and  the  two  other  ac- 
counts mentioned  are  shown  in  Figures  8,  9,  and 
10.  The  method  of  using  these  in  conjunction 
with  a  financial  control  sheet,  or  other  personal 
cash  accounting  system,  is  also  described. 


PERSONAL  ACCOUNTS 


169 


The  entries  in  the  above  accounts  are  ex- 
plained as  follows : 

On  October  1,  $5  was  allotted  from  the  control  sheet 
to  the  Investment  Account.  This  is  shown  by  the 
credit   (right-hand)   entry  on  the  Allotment  Account, 


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Figure  8.     An   Allotment  Account 


and  the  debit  (left-hand)  entry  on  the  Control  Sheet 
Account. 

On  November  1,  the  $5  allotted  was  paid  from  the 
control  sheet  into  the  investment  fund.  This  is  shown 
by  the  credit  entry  on  Account  No.  2  and  the  debit  on 
No.  3. 


170 


TACKLING  TECH. 


On  November  I  also  it  was  decided  again  to  allot  $5 
to  be  withdrawn  from  the  spending  money  at  the  end 
of  the  month.  This  is  shown  as  before  by  a  credit 
entry  on  No.  1  and  a  debit  on  No.  2. 


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Figure  9.     A  Control  Sheet  Account 


During  the  month  of  November,  however,  larger 
cash  expenditures  were  evidently  made  than  were 
anticipated.  The  final  balance  on  the  control  sheet 
was  therefore  decreased,  and  instead  of  putting  money 
into  the  Investment  Account  it  was  necessary  to  with- 


PERSONAL  ACCOUNTS 


171 


draw  $2.     This  is  shown  by  the  debit  entry  on  No.  2 
and  the  credit  entry  on  No.  3. 

Since  savings  were  not  made  as  rapidly  as  antici- 
pated it  was  further  decided  to  allot  only  $3  to  be 
turned  over  to  the  Investment  Account  for  the  month 


Jr* 

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Figure  10.    An  Investment  Account 


of  November.    This  shows  on  the  accounts  as  a  credit 
to  No.  1  and  debit  to  No.  2. 

On  January  1,  $3  was  transferred  from  the  control 
sheet  to  the  investment  fund  (No.  2  credit,  No.  3 
debit)  and  balances  were  struck.  The  following  facts 
are  immediately  evident: 


172  TACKLING  TECH. 

i.  $13  has  been  allotted  to  be  saved  out  of  the  per- 
sonal expenses  fund  during  the  three  months  noted. 
(See  balance  of  Allotment  Account.) 

2.  Out  of  the  $13  allotted  the  control  sheet  has  still 
to  pay  over  $7  to  the  investment  fund.  (Balance  of 
No.  2.)  Hence  $6  has  actually  been  "saved"  during 
the  months  of  October,  November,  and  December  ($13 

-$7  =  $6). 

3.  The  balance  in  the  Investment  Account  has  been 
increased  from  $500  on  November  1  to  $506  on  Janu- 
ary 1,  which  checks  with  the  above  statement  that  $6 
has  actually  been  turned  into  the  investment  fund  as 
savings. 

It  should  be  noted  that  in  case  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
tinually reimburse  the  control  sheet  from  the  invest- 
ment fund  allotments  can  be  made  (debit  No.  1,  credit 
No.  2)  which  will  anticipate  such  payments.  This 
method  of  recording  transactions  is  sufficiently  elastic, 
therefore,  to  take  care  of  practically  any  conditions 
which  may  arise. 

Outline  of  a  Practical  Double-Entry  System 

It  is  clear  that  by  the  above  method  a  perma- 
nent relationship  can  be  established  between  a 
financial  control  sheet,  or  any  other  method  of 
recording  personal  cash  expenditures,  and  a  se- 
ries of  ledger  accounts.  Each  month  money  may 
be  allotted  from  a  savings  account  to  the  control 
sheet,  for  example,  or  vice  versa.  If  this  allot- 
ment is  not  maintained  the  actual  status  will  be 
shown  clearly  and  simply  by  the  monthly  bal- 


PERSONAL  ACCOUNTS  173 

ances.  Hence  with  such  an  arrangement  there 
will  be  a  double  force  tending  toward  economical 
spending.  Savings  are  not  only  pushed  into 
the  Investment  Account  by  the  operations  of  the 
control  sheet,  but  are  also  drawn  into  the  same 
account  by  the  entries  made  under  "Allotment." 
A  little  reflection  will  show  that  this  method 
represents  in  simple  form  an  elastic  system  of 
handling  personal  finances  which  is  widely  ap- 
plicable. The  Investment  Account  may,  in  fact, 
be  broken  down  into  any  number  of  asset  and 
liability  accounts.  The  advantages  are  gained 
by  using  double-entry  accounting  where  it  is 
necessary,  and  the  disadvantages  of  recording 
small  daily  expenditures  by  this  means  are 
avoided. 

Bibliography 

Beach,    F.    L.      Twenty    Twenty-Minute    Lessons    in 

Bookkeeping. 
Cole,  W.  M.    Fundamentals  of  Accounting. 
Hodge,   A.   C,   and   McKinsey,  J.   O.     Principles   of 

Accounting. 
Koopman,  S.  B.,  and  Kester,  R.  B.     Fundamentals  of 

Accounting. 
Paton,   W.  A.,  and   Stevenson,   R.   A.     Principles  of 

Accounting. 


CHAPTER  XV 

SUMMER  WORK,  GETTING  A  JOB  AND 
MAKING  GOOD 

When  a  man  does  not  know  to  what  port  he  is  steer- 
ing no  wind  is  favorable  to  him. — Seneca 

A  Definite  Aim 

It  is  important  that  as  a  student  in  college  or 
a  technical  school  you  should  formulate  for  your- 
self as  early  as  possible  a  definite  purpose  in  life. 
The  problem  of  knowing  just  what  you  want  to 
do  is  a  difficult  one  to  solve.  The  earlier  yon 
are  able  to  describe  clearly  some  goal  toward 
which  you  are  striving,  the  better. 

The  importance  of  making  an  early  choice  can 
be  shown  in  a  number  of  ways.  At  Dartmouth 
comparative  records  have  recently  been  compiled 
of  the  students  who  had  early  chosen  their  life 
work  and  those  who  had  not.  The  scholastic 
standing  of  the  former  appeared  to  be  5  or  6  per 
cent  higher  than  that  of  those  who  were  simply 
drifting.  There  was  shown  also  a  better  correla- 
tion between  studies,  outside  work,  and  other 
activities.  This  was  especially  true  in  the  selec- 
tion of  general  studies.  By  setting  a  goal  for 
yourself  you  have  a  double  advantage.    Not  only 

174 


SUMMER   WORK  175 

does  it  give  you  something  definite  toward  which 
to  strive,  but  also  it  helps  you  to  select  and  shape 
your  experiences  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  fit 
more  perfectly  into  your  scheme  of  life  as  a 
whole.  Even  if  you  do  not  stick  to  the  exact  pro- 
fession for  which  you  train  yourself,  you  will  be 
much  farther  ahead  at  the  end  of  ten  years  for 
having  had  a  definite  purpose  in  mind  while  in 
college. 

Summer  Work  and  Choosing  a  Profession 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  men  taking  tech- 
nical courses  have  definitely  settled  upon  a  pro- 
fessional career.  In  reality  this  is  rarely  true. 
Many  technical  students  have  a  clearer  concep- 
tion of  their  future  work  than  do  college  men. 
Nevertheless,  these  aims  are  often  very  vague. 
It  is  shown  by  the  records  of  graduates  that  men 
trained  for  special  service  in  particular  fields  of 
engineering  often  find  their  vocation  elsewhere.1 

There  is  a  close  relationship  between  choosing 
a  profession  and  experience  gained  through  sum- 
mer work.  During  the  past  year  a  part  of  my 
work  with  seniors  has  been  to  attempt  to  connect 
their  past  experiences  with  their  plans  for  the 
future.     Some  of  these  men  had  done  little  sum- 


1  It  is  doubtful  if  more  than  15  per  cent  of  all  technical  graduates 
remain  in  what  might  be  considered  to  be  strictly  technical  fields  for 
longer  than  7  or  8  years  after  graduation/ 


176  TACKLING   TECH. 

mer  work  during  their  four  years'  course.  The 
majority  had  gained  practical  experience  in  one 
way  or  another  during  at  least  two  summers,  and 
showed  excellent  records.  For  example,  one  man 
had  worked  for  six  summers  in  six  automobile 
plants. 

A  most  striking  fact  was  correlation  between 
the  amount  of  summer  work  and  definiteness  in 
regard  to  future  plans.  Not  one  of  the  men  who 
had  done  no  summer  work  during  his  years  of 
training  had  any  clear  conception  of  what  he  ex- 
pected to  do  after  graduation. 

Specific  Gains  Through  Summer  Experience 

Experience  in  industry,  besides  intermixing 
practice  with  theory,  gives  a  student  a  back- 
ground for  a  reliable  study  of  his  own  abilities 
and  limitations.  A  man  cannot  be  expected  to 
know  whether  he  will  find  the  profession  of  a 
boiler  expert  to  his  liking  until  he  has  a  taste  of 
the  required  work. 

Engineering  schools  are  realizing  more  and 
more  clearly  the  value  of  practical  experience  ob- 
tained in  conjunction  with  technical  courses.  Sta- 
tistics from  ten  representative  institutions  indi- 
cate that  in  the  year  192 1- 1922  there  were  be- 
tween three  and  four  times  as  many  men  taking 
co-operative  technical  courses  as  there  had  been 


SUMMER   WORK  177 

eight  years  previous,  while  the  number  of  regu- 
lar students  during  this  period  had  increased  only 
some  33  1/3  per  cent.  It  is  evident  that  steps 
are  being  taken  by  schools  themselves  to  require 
practical  training  as  a  part  of  every  technical 
course.  If  this  has  not  been  done  in  your  school, 
your  policy  may  well  be  to  gain  this  experience 
through  your  own  initiative. 

Obtaining  Proper  Experience 

The  training  to  be  gained  during  summers  and 
after  graduation  should  be  selected  upon  a  long- 
term  basis,  for  this  determines  your  experience 
to  a  great  extent.  A  short  time  ago  I  discussed 
this  subject  with  a  man  who  has  carried  on  an 
increasingly  successful  business  for  over  thirty 
years.  "Let  your  plans  be  laid  with  a  view  to 
succeeding  when  success  counts  the  most,"  he 
said.  "It  does  not  matter  so  much  what  you  will 
do  when  you  are  five  years  out  of  school.  It  is 
what  you  will  be  doing  after  you  have  been  out 
ten  years  or  more  that  counts.  Succeed  if  you 
can  before  you  are  thirty,  but  let  your  success  be 
of  that  kind  which  leads  on  to  greater  achieve- 
ments when  you  are  more  than  forty." 

Before  you  can  be  truly  successful  in  the  broad- 
est sense,  there  are  at  least  three  things  which  you 
must  acquire  by  experience:     You  must  know 


178  TACKLING   TECH. 

how  to  control  men;  you  must  be  able  to  gain 
the  confidence  of  your  employers  and  co-workers ; 
and  you  must  be  able  to  sell  your  product,  whether 
that  product  is  your  own  services  or  manufact- 
ured goods.  To  achieve  these  ends  practical  ex- 
perience, as  well  as  natural  aptitude  and  acquired 
knowledge,  is  demanded. 

Suggestions  for  Summer  Work 

Below  is  an  analysis  of  the  various  types  of 
summer  work  open  to  students.  If  carefully 
studied  this  section  should  aid  you  in  deciding 
what  kind  of  wrork  will  give  the  needed  expe- 
rience. 

Engineering  Experience  and  Technical  Work 

In  this  field  may  be  included  all  work  of  a  fairly 
technical  nature  which  does  not  include  the  learning 
of  a  particular  trade.    Such,  for  example,  would  be : 

Designing  and  drafting 

Surveying 

Constructive  work 

Research  work  (industrial  or  professional) 
Trade  Occupations 

These  include  all  jobs  related  directly  to  specific 
trades.  The  great  value  of  experience  gained  here  lies 
in  obtaining  the  point  of  view  of  the  workingman,  as 
well  as  in  learning  the  details  of  certain  tasks  through 
actual  performance.    Examples: 

Machine   shop   work 

Foundry  work 


SUMMER   WORK 


179 


Forging 

Electrician's  work 

Wood  turning 
General  Industrial  Experience 

By  this  is  meant  training  of  a  relatively  broad  nature 
in  industrial  plants.  Such  work  should  give  every 
opportunity  for  studying  the  various  processes  and 
methods  employed  in  modern  manufacturing.  It  can 
usually  be  found  best  in  the  departments  of : 

Purchasing 

Storing 

Shipping 

Receiving 

General  office  work  (under  certain  conditions) 

Statistical  and  Accounting  Experience 

This  includes  work  in  the  accounting  department  or 
in  statistical  departments  of  industrial  plants,  as  well 
as  in  banks,  brokerage  houses,  accountants'  offices,  etc. 
The  experience  is  very  valuable  in  teaching  the 
methods  of  recording  and  to  some  extent  of  financing 
used  in  business. 
Sales  Experience 

Certain  types  of  selling  are  essential  in  practically 
every  field.  Training  in  this  work,  even  for  the  man 
who  does  not  intend  to  use  the  experience  directly,  is 
very  valuable.  An  analysis  of  various  kinds  of  sales 
occupations  might  include: 
Mail  order  work 
Selling  goods  to  other  firms 

Selling  goods  to  individuals  (house-to-house  can- 
vassing, etc.) 
Advertising  work 


180  TACKLING  TECH. 

Work  for  Financial  Returns 
Tutoring 

Summer  camp  counsellor  work 
Work  as  chauffeur 
Running  motor  boat 
Operating  wireless,  etc. 
Hotel  service 

Suggested  Programs 

General  recommendations  as  to  what  sort 
of  summer  experiences  is  most  desirable  are  diffi- 
cult to  make;  individual  cases  require  special 
treatment.  The  programs  given  below,  however, 
have  actually  been  followed  by  many  men.  The 
suggestions  they  contain  are  based  upon  the  ex- 
periences of  students  well  satisfied  with  the  re- 
sults obtained,  and  upon  the  recommendations  of 
older  men  who  have  observed  these  results.  All 
programs,  of  course,  are  subject  to  revision  in 
cases  where  men  must  carry  special  courses  or 
do  other  required  wo/k  during  any  particular 
summer. 

For  the  man  who  leans  by  choice  to  strictly 
technical  training  and  who  feels  that  a  profes- 
sional field  has  a  special  appeal,  a  plan  similar  to 
the  following  is  good : 

Summer  after  First  Year 
Surveying  or  other  outdoor  work. 
Industrial  experience  of  a  general  nature. 


SUMMER   WORK  181 

If  absolutely  necessary  work  giving  the  greatest  pos- 
sible remuneration  rather  than  the  most  valuable 
experience. 

Summer  after  Second  Year 

Trade  occupation. 

Summer  after  Third  Year 
Trade  occupation. 
Construction  work. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  are  a  student  who 
feels  more  inclined  to  enter  into  some  particular 
industry  or  business,  your  program  might  be  laid 
out  as  follows : 

Summer  after  First  Year 
Selling  experience. 
Trade  occupation. 

Summer  after  Second  Year 

Selling  experience.     (Stick  to   it   until  you  are   suc- 
cessful.) 
Industrial  experience  of  a  general  nature. 
Trade  occupation,  if  not  taken  the  first  summer. 
Summer  after  Third  Year 
Industrial  experience. 
Statistical  or  accounting  experience. 

Still  another  plan  may  be  followed  by  students 
who  desire  to  go  into  research  work.  For  such 
men  a  program  might  be  laid  out  as  follows : 

Summer  after  First  Year 

Work  of  a  general  industrial  nature,  in  connection  with 

a  research  department  if  possible. 
Work  for  financial  returns  if  this  is  a  necessity. 


182  TACKLING  TECH. 

Summer  aifter  Second  Year 
Industrial  research  work  of  a  general  character. 
Summer  after  Third  Year 

Somewhat   more   highly   specialized   work   in   profes- 
sional or  industrial  research. 

Getting  the  Job 

The  procedure  of  actually  obtaining  the  posi- 
tion you  want  is  even  more  a  matter  of  individual 
initiative,  judgment,  and  energy.  A  few  books 
have  recently  appeared  which  will  be  well  worth 
your  while  to  consult  in  this  connection.2  Ac- 
cording to  these  books,  and  according  to  the  ex- 
perience of  a  number  of  students,  the  following 
points  may  be  emphasized : 

Planning  Your  Campaign 

Do  not  trust  to  chance,  or  to  a  burst  of  last- 
minute  energy,  but  plan  out  your  campaign  in 
advance,  both  as  to  the  line  of  work  you  desire 
and,  so  far  as  you  can,  the  possible  employer.  If 
you  are  going  to  line  up  a  summer  job  for  the  lat- 
ter part  of  June,  for  example,  begin  laying  your 
plans  in  March.    Before  you  do  anything  else  de- 

3  Two  excellent  books  on  the  subject  of  getting  a  job  which  apply 
very  well  to  the  undergraduate  or  to  recent  graduates  are:  "How  to 
Get  the  Job  You  Want,"  by  William  L.  Fletcher,  and  "Finding  Your 
Job,"  by  Norman  G.  Shidle.  Mr.  Fletcher  is  a  man  of  wide  employ- 
ment experience  and  is  well  qualified  to  handle  this  subject  in  all  its 
aspects.  Mr.  Shidle  >s  a  more  recent  graduate  and  presents  his  mate- 
rial in  a  manner  especially  valuable  to  the  young  college  or  technical 
student. 


SUMMER   WORK  183 

termine  the  kind  of  position  you  want  to  get — 
and  know  why  you  want  it.  Make  a  memoran- 
dum of  this.  Have  one  or  two  alternatives  if 
you  wish,  but  decide  definitely  on  what  kind  of 
work  will  be  most  desirable. 

Obtain  a  good  list  of  prospective  employers. 
To  do  this  utilize  fully  the  following  possible 
sources  of  information  and  assistance : 

Relatives  and  friends;  business  men  and  social 
acquaintances. 

Former  teachers  and  teachers  in  your  present 
school. 

Former  employers. 

Graduates  of  your  school  and  others  especially 
interested,  such  as  co-operating  manufac- 
turers, etc. 

Industrial  research  divisions  (school  employ- 
ment departments). 

Commercial  employment  agencies  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Engineering  societies. 

Trade  associations  and  United  States  govern- 
ment service. 

Letters  of  Application 

Very  probably  you  will  have  to  make  your 
contact  with  possible  employers  by  letter.  Make 
your  letters  effective.  Three  essentials  for  a  good 
letter  of  application  are : 


184  TACKLING  TECH. 

i.  It  must  contain  the  necessary  facts. 

2.  The  thoughts  must  be  expressed  in  a  logical, 

concise,  and  straightforward  manner. 

3.  It  must  be  mechanically  perfect ;  that  is,  correct 

as  to  spacing,  margins,  spelling,  neatness,  and 
general  appearance. 

Before  final  typing  be  sure  to  have  your  letter 
scrutinized  by  the  severest  critic  whom  you  can 
find.  The  typing  should  be  done  by  an  expe- 
rienced stenographer  on  standard  stationery.  This 
will  save  you  time  and  money  in  the  end. 

Below  are  shown  two  good  letters  of  ap- 
plication : 

32  Westland  Ave., 
Boston,  Mass., 
May  20,  1922. 

Chain  Belt  Co., 

744  Park  St., 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Gentlemen : 

Inasmuch  as  I  anticipate  graduating  in  the  course  in 
Mechanical  Engineering  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  (Boston  Tech.)  this  coming  June,  I  am  taking 
the  liberty  of  writing  you  with  regard  to  possible  openings 
in  your  concern  at  that  time. 

I  am  an  American  citizen,  28  years  old.  At  the  age  of 
16  I  entered  a  machine  shop  in  Washington,  D.  C.  and 
served  there  eight  years.  During  this  period  I  attended 
trade  and  preparatory  schools,  completed  my  high  school 
education,  and  attended  evening  sessions  at  George  Wash- 
ington University.  While  there  I  studied  liberal  arts  and 
scientific  subjects. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  I  entered  the  first  officers' 
training  camp  and  was  commissioned  a  2nd  Lieutenant  in 


SUMMER   WORK  185 

the  Coast  Artillery  Corps.  My  service  in  the  army  covered 
a  period  of  two  years  and  four  months,  ten  months  of 
which  were  overseas.  In  August,  19 19,  I  was  honorably 
discharged  as  a  1st  Lieutenant.  The  following  September 
I  entered  this  institution  with  advanced  standing. 

My  practical  experience  includes  also  that  gained 
during  school  vacations  and  covers  a  period  of  nine  years 
spent  in  machine  and  forge  shops  at  different  manufactur- 
ing plants.  Supplemented  by  school  instruction,  I  have  had 
liberal  training  in  the  operation  of  lathes,  drill  presses, 
milling  machines  and  various  other  machine  tools.  At 
present  I  am  a  student  assistant  in  the  Machine  Tool  Lab- 
oratory. This,  in  itself,  is  an  excellent  training,  as  the 
laboratory  is  equipped  with  the  lathes  and  most  improved 
machine  tools.  My  experience  in  drafting  has  been  that 
gained  in  the  army,  three  years  at  George  Washington  Uni- 
versity, and  three  years  at  Technology. 

The  field  in  which  I  am  directly  interested  is  either 
Sales  or  Production  Engineering.  I  realize  that  in  order 
to  prove  of  greatest  value  to  a  concern  I  must  first  occupy 
subordinate  positions  despite  my  previous  training.  This 
I  am  quite  prepared  to  do. 

With  reference  to  my  record  and  scholarship  at  the 
Institute  I  am  able  to  refer  you  to  Professor  Edward  F. 
Miller,  head  of  the  course  in  Mechanical  Engineering. 

Should  you  be  interested,  I  should  be  pleased  to  for- 
ward any  further  information  necessary,  or  arrange  for  an 
interview  with  any  representative  within  a  reasonable  dis- 
tance of  Boston. 

Very  truly  yours, 

M.  B.  B. 


Copies  of  this  letter  were,  sent  to  sixteen  cor- 
porations. The  writer  received  fifteen  replies, 
four  interviews,  and  three  offers  of  positions.  It 
will  pay  you  to  study  this  letter  carefully.  The 
style  or  tone  of  the  letter  is  particularly  worthy  of 
your  careful  consideration. 


186  TACKLING   TECH. 

81  Haddon  Road, 
Lexington,    Massachusetts, 
May  17,  1921. 

Western  Paper  Manufacturing  Company, 
Springfield,  Massachusetts. 

Subject:     Application  for  Position 

Gentlemen : 

I  write  to  ask  what  opportunity  your  business  can  offer 
to  a  man  27  years  of  age  with  average  ability,  an  open  mind 
and  a  capacity  for  hard  work.  I  write  to  you  because  I 
have  had  several  years'  experience  in  the  paper  industry,  am 
interested  in  it  above  all  other  kinds  of  business  and  because 
I  know  your  company  by  reputation  to  be  the  kind  I  should 
like  to  work  with. 

My  education  is  high  school  and  one  year  at  Boston 
University  (evenings),  where  I  studied  management  and 
marketing  problems.  In  the  paper  business  I  started  at  the 
bottom  in  a  mill  in  Pennsylvania.  When  I  entered  the 
service  in  1917  I  was  foreman  of  a  department.  Since  the 
war  I  have  had  some  experience  in  selling,  printing,  and 
buying — in  other  words,  I  have  been  trying  to  get  an  all- 
round  knowledge  before  starting  on  the  job  which  I  shall 
try  to  make  my  life  work. 

There  are  personal  qualities  which  have  an  important 
bearing  upon  a  man's  success — such  as  personality,  loyalty, 
enthusiasm,  reliability,  resourcefulness  and  initiative — upon 
which  I  am  not  competent  to  speak  regarding  myself.  I 
can  say,  however,  that  my  health  is  excellent,  I  have  a  pur- 
pose in  life,  I  can  accept  responsibilities,  and  I  think  that 
the  army  taught  me  the  importance  of  discipline.  I  am 
saving  a  small  amount  of  money  regularly.  As  to  char- 
acter, habits  and  references,  I  can  refer  you  to  people  with 
whom  I  have  worked  and  invite  such  further  investigation 
as  you  may  care  to  make. 

Because  I  am  married  and  dependent  upon  what  I  earn 
for  support  I  cannot  afford  to  finance  myself  entirely  during 
a  trial  period;  initial  salary,  however,  is  a  secondary  con- 
sideration. What  I  desire  is  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate 
my  value  to  you.  May  I  have  the  privilege  of  an  interview 
at  your  convenience? 

Sincerely  yours, 

Ernest  Tuttle. 


SUMMER   WORK  187 

Persistence 

Finally,  and  perhaps  more  important  than  any 
other  advice  that  could  be  given :  Be  persistent. 
Stick  to  your  campaign  for  a  job  until  you  get 

results. 

Bibliography 

Barrett,  C.  R.    Getting  a  Good  Job. 

Beveridge,  A.  J.    Young  Man  and  the  World,  The. 

Bolwell,  R.    After  College,  What? 

Cushing,    G.   H.      Some   Points   to   Remember   When 

Looking  for  a  Job. 
Dibble,  F.  A.    How  to  Get  a  Satisfactory  Situation. 
Fletcher,  William  L.    How  to  Get  the  Job  You  Want. 
Fowler,  N.  C.,  Jr.    How  to  Get  and  Keep  a  Job. 
Gowin,  E.  B.    Occupations;  A  Textbook  in  Vocational 

Guidance. 
Gunion,  P.  C.    Selling  Your  Services. 
Gurtler,  F.  H.    Getting  the  Position. 
Hendrick,  Ellwood.    Opportunities  in  Chemistry. 
Hiscock,  G.  D.    Modern  Steam  Engineering. 
Horton,  C.  M.    Opportunities  in  Engineering. 
Lee,  J.  M.    Opportunities  in  Newspaper  Business. 
Maxwell,  William.     If  I  Were  Twenty-One. 
Merton,  H.  W.    How  to  Choose  the  Right  Vocation. 
Newell,  F.  H.    Engineering  as  a  Career. 
Rollins,  Frank  West.    What  Can  a  Young  Man  Do? 
Shidle,  Norman  G.    Finding  Your  Job. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  OTHER  THINGS  IN  LIFE1 

Till  we  are  built  like  angels, 

With  hammer  and  chisel  and  pen 

We  will  work  for  ourselves  and  a  woman, 

Forever  and  ever,  amen. 

— Rudyard  Kipling 

Girls  and  Their  Proper  Sphere 

It  will  always  be  a  question  in  the  minds  of 
parents,  faculty,  and  students,  whether  or  not 
girls  play  too  large  a  part  in  a  man's  educational 
career.  Whenever  a  man  does  poor  work,  or 
is  on  the  verge  of  expulsion  or  flunking  out,  the 
age-old  insinuation  invariably  comes  up:  "He 
dallied  with  women  too  much" ! 

It  is  part  of  a  man's  education  to  call  upon  and 
to  go  around  with  girls  during  his  college  course. 
The  unfortunate  type  of  man  who  is  a  recluse  in 
this  respect  is  very  likely  to  regret  that  he  has  not 
taken  advantage  of  his  opportunities.  If  he  has 
not  adjusted  his  relationship  with  girls  in  a  nor- 
mal manner  he  is  likely  to  fall  into  difficulties  in 
after  life.  The  man  who  does  not  understand 
women  is  likely  to  form  unsuitable  friendships, 


1  In  writing  this  chapter  the  author  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Henri  Pell 
Junod,  who  collaborated  with  him  in  this  work  and  in  selecting  quota- 
tions for  the  chapter  headings  throughout  the  book. 

1 88 


THE   OTHER  THINGS   IN   LIFE  189 

and  eventually  perhaps  to  find  himself  unhappily 
married.  Moreover,  women  are  the  instinctive 
arbiters  of  social  relations.  Their  influence  in 
training  men  to  adapt  themselves  to  society  is  an 
almost  indispensable  factor.  A  man  may  be  a 
technical  genius  but  unless  he  knows  something 
of  social  matters  as  well  he  will  be  doomed  to 
many  a  business  and  financial  defeat.  The  man 
who  does  not  learn  to  get  along  with  women 
while  he  is  in  college  is  neglecting  an  important 
lesson  which  should  be  mastered. 

Overdoing  the  Matter 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  many  college  men 
who  rush  headlong  into  the  society  game  and  be- 
come enveloped  in  a  whirlpool  of  social  activities, 
which  culminates  in  their  scholastic  ruin.  I  recall 
the  case  of  a  friend  who  recently  came  to  a  tech- 
nical school.  He  was  interested  in  his  fraternity, 
and  in  other  activities  which  took  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  time.  Besides  these,  he  insisted  on 
attending  all  of  the  teas,  dances,  and  theater  par- 
ties to  which  he  was  invited.  As  a  result  he  neg- 
lected his  studies.  Although  he  managed  to  "get 
by"  for  three  years,  in  the  middle  of  his  senior 
year  he  was  forced  to  drop  out.  All  his  trouble 
could  easily  have  been  avoided  had  he  but  exer- 
cised his  better  judgment. 


190  TACKLING  TECH. 

There  are  four  things  to  which  every  college 
man  can  devote  his  time ;  studies,  fraternities, 
activities,  and  girls.  A  man  has  yet  to  be  found 
who  can  undertake  unlimited  responsibilities  in 
the  last  three  and  still  carry  on  the  first  satis- 
factorily. 

The  Happy  Medium 

Aristotle  said,  "Medium  courses  are  the  best." 
As  in  the  case  of  the  ancients,  each  man  must 
steer  his  course  between  his  Scylla  and  Charybdis. 
Many  indeed  were  destroyed  between  these  two 
treacherous  hazards,  but  a  strong  and  firm  ^Eneas 
piloted  his  vessel  safely  between  them.  There  is 
a  vast  difference  between  going  to  see  a  girl  or  two 
during  the  week-end  and  going  to  a  party  every 
night. 

A  technical  student  must  realize  always  that 
he  has  come  to  school,  not  necessarily  to  grind, 
but  to  work.  He  must  deal  with  the  "Girl 
Question"  in  a  sensible  manner.  He  cannot  per- 
mit himself  to  acquire  the  habit  of  calling  inces- 
santly upon  a  girl,  and  must  be  content  with  be- 
ing in  such  company  a  reasonable  part  of  the  time. 
Thus  a  man  can  obtain  all  the  greatest  benefits 
of  society  but  at  the  same  time  he  will  not  thwart 
his  predominant  purpose  of  gaining  a  technical 
training. 


THE   OTHER   THINGS    IN   LIFE  igi 

Week-Ends 

Week-ends  are  likely  to  be  the  factor  in  the  life 
of  a  student  which  actually  make  or  break  him. 
There  are  men  who  slave  all  day  Sunday  in  order 
to  make  up  back  work.  They  are  satisfied  to 
make  Saturday  night  and  Sunday  a  veritable  orgy 
of  work,  for  they  look  on  the  week-end  merely  as 
a  time  to  catch  up  in  the  work  which  they  have 
neglected  during  the  week.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
when  it  is  time  for  bed  Sunday  night  such  men 
too  often  find  that  the  week-end  has  been  really 
frittered  away  and  that  only  a  few  hours  of  con- 
structive work  have  been  accomplished  . 

There  are,  on  the  other  hand,  men  who  look 
upon  Sunday  as  a  day  of  absolute  rest,  but  their 
rest  too  often  consists  of  sleeping  all  the  morning 
and  sitting  in  an  armchair  during  the  remainder 
of  the  day.  Possibly,  to  break  the  monotony  they 
glance  occasionally  at  "Boob  McNutt,"  "Bring- 
ing up  Father,"  or  the  "Sporting  Section" ! 

The  Problem 

The  problem  of  how  to  spend  your  week-ends 
profitably  is  a  big  one  in  itself.  Moreover,  the 
way  in  which  you  solve  it  now  will  influence  you 
to  solve  it  similarly  throughout  your  life.  No 
man  wants  to  look  forward  to  coming  home 
Saturday  noon  when  he  has  a  home  of  his  own, 


I92  TACKLING   TECH. 

with  the  prospect  of  working  incessantly  till  late 
Sunday  night  on  "hang-over"  work  from  the  pre- 
vious week.  There  is  no  time  like  the  present  to 
begin  cultivating  the  habit  of  having  your  week's 
work  done  when  the  working  week  is  over. 

It  was  one  of  Roosevelt's  ideals  to  fill  every 
one  of  his  week-ends  with  pastimes  which  were 
worth  while.  We  can  do  no  better  than  to  follow 
in  his  footsteps.  Between  Saturday  at  12  and 
Monday  morning  at  8  o'clock  there  are  44  hours 
available.  Look  upon  these  as  a  reward  for  your 
honest  effort  and  the  completion  of  your  work 
during  the  week.  Then  follow  Roosevelt's 
scheme,  spending  your  time  as  you  wish  to  spend 
it,  but  always  to  advantage. 

Suggestions 

Below  are  shown  two  types  of  week-ends. 
These  are  actual  plans  practiced  by  two  friends 
over  a  period  of  four  years. 


Sat.  P.  M. 

1 
Ball  game. 

Go    to    city    (usually 

alone). 

Sat.  Night 

Go  to  see   family   or 

friends. 

Sun.  A.  M. 

Church    and    Sunday 

School. 

Sun.  P.  M. 

Walk,    see    museums, 

etc.  (usually  alone). 

THE  OTHER   THINGS   IN   LIFE  193 

Sun.  Night  Go  to  see  friends. 

Go  to  bed  early. 

2 
Sat.  P.  M.  Track  practice. 

Football  game. 
Sat.  Night  Call    on    girls    (with 

fellows). 
Sun.  A.  M.  Read  a  newspaper  or 

loaf. 
Sun.  P.M.  Talk    with    boys    or 

play  ball. 
Sun.  Night  Movies    with    fellows 

or  girls. 

The  first  of  these  week-ends  is  far  too  circum- 
scribed; the  man  has  accomplished  a  great  deal 
but  he  has  not  broadened  his  relations  with  his 
fellows,  and  has  been  alone  too  much.  The  sec- 
ond man,  although  he  has  broadened  his  relations 
with  his  fellows,  has  entirely  neglected  the  fact 
that  he  should  try  to  improve  his  mind.  Below 
is  a  third  plan,  by  following  which  a  man  can 
avoid  the  dangers  of  both  the  first  and  second 
schemes  above  and  at  the  same  time  can  accom- 
plish more  and  widen  his  outlook  on  life. 

3 
Sat.  P.  M.  Athletics,    sports,    or 

lootball  game. 
Sat.  Night  Call  upon  girls. 

Sun.  A.  M.  Read  something  worth 

while     or     go     to 

church. 


I94  TACKLING  TECH. 

Sun.  P.  M.  Get  some  exercise. 

Sun.  Night  Help  your  friends. 

Write  letters. 

Call  upon  a  girl. 

See    family    and 
friends. 

Bed  early. 

Six  Purposes  of  a  Week-End 

There  are  finally  six  purposes  a  man  may  well 
bear  in  mind  when  planning  his  week-ends. 
These  are : 

i.  To  improve  his  relations  with  his  fellow  men. 

2.  To  improve  his  mind. 

3.  To  meet  and  to  get  acquainted  with  girls. 

4.  To  maintain  perfect  physical  health. 

5.  To  enjoy  the  association  of  family  and  home 

life. 

6.  To  learn  the  lesson  of  helpfulness  to  others. 

The  man  who  can  properly  correlate  in  his 
week-ends  these  six  points  has  indeed  made  a 
great  advance  toward  ultimately  gaining  success 
and  happiness  in  both  his  work  and  play. 

Friends 

Friendship  is  as  old  as  the  ages.  It  is  the  most 
sought-after  blessing  in  the  universe.  It  is  elu- 
sive— yet  elusive  only  in  that  men  must  give  of 
themselves  to  obtain  the  fullness  of  it. 

True  friendship  is  not  a  superficial  acquaint- 


THE  OTHER  THINGS   IN   LIFE  195 

anceship;  it  is  something  deep  and  firmly  founded 
in  one's  character.  A  friend  is  a  man  who  knows 
all  your  faults — and  likes  you  just  the  same.  He 
is  a  man  who  will  give  you  of  his  time,  his  money, 
his  all;  who  is  never  too  busy  to  help  you  or  to 
advise  you  or  to  cheer  you  and  who  is  willing  to 
make  your  problems  his  own. 

Tests  of  Friendship 

The  true  test  of  friendship  is  adversity.  This, 
indeed,  proves  the  old  saying,  "A  friend  in  need  is 
a  friend  indeed."  The  spirit  of  sacrifice  enters 
into  every  true  friendship.  No  Damon-and-Py- 
thias  friendship,  no  David-and- Jonathan  friend- 
ship, comes  to  the  man  who  does  not  preach  and 
practice  the  gospel  of  "give  and  take." 

The  friendships  which  one  makes  in  life  are 
among  its  rarest  blessings.  How  truly  has  it 
been  said  that  money  and  fame  matter  little  as 
compared  with  friends  and  the  happiness  they 
can  bring ! 

Obstacles 

The  greatest  obstacle  you  will  have  to  face  in 
making  friends  is  your  own  natural  reticence. 
In  college  you  must  also  remember  that  owing 
to  inevitable  conditions  in  the  large  institutions 
the  custom  of  speaking  and  conversing  freely 


196  TACKLING  TECH. 

with  other  men  is  far  more  limited  than  in  smaller 
schools  and  colleges.  It  is  only  through  your 
own  initiative  that  you  can  overcome  these  diffi- 
culties. 

Every  day  in  the  classroom,  in  activities,  and 
after  hours  there  are  opportunities  for  you  to 
make  and  cultivate  friends.  Do  not  let  these 
chances  escape  you.  Meet  as  many  men  as  you 
can  during  your  first  year,  for  it  is  there  that  the 
roots  of  friendship  first  spring.  After  this  you 
will  find  it  increasingly  easy  to  enjoy  the  com- 
pany of  men,  and  you  will  gain  much  from  every 
new  acquaintanceship. 

Giving  Yourself  a  Chance 

In  the  world  of  competition  you  must  realize 
that  many  men  will  do  things  well.  Then  when 
the  problem  comes  of  deciding  between  two  men, 
whether  it  is  a  matter  of  letting  a  contract  or  ob- 
taining a  job  or  a  raise  in  salary,  if  the  ability 
of  the  two  men  is  equal  the  question  of  friendship 
and  capacity  for  making  friends  (which  is  noth- 
ing short  of  personality)  usually  decides  the 
issue.  It  is  worth  everything  to  cultivate  this 
ability  and  the  time  to  begin  is  while  you  are  in 
college.  Today  in  business  it  is  the  man  who 
makes  friends  first  and  does  business  afterwards 
who  succeeds  in  the  long  run. 


THE  OTHER  THINGS   IN   LIFE  197 

Attaining  an  Ideal 

Friendship  is  an  attainable  ideal  for  everyone 
and  it  depends  upon  the  individual  to  what  extent 
he  will  put  himself  out  to  gain  its  full  value.  Like 
all  else  in  life,  it  is  governed  by  the  principle  that 
the  more  one  puts  into  it  the  more  one  will  get 
out. 

Build  your  life  upon  your  friendships.  From 
your  friends  you  will  gain  more  happiness,  more 
real  enjoyment,  more  of  the  never- failing  bless- 
ings of  life  than  from  any  other  single  source  of 
pleasure.  Through  them  you  will  be  able  to  ren- 
der your  greatest  service.  The  man  who  builds 
up  his  life  hopes,  ambitions,  and  achievements 
upon  a  firm  foundation  of  friendship  can  safely 
feel  that  his  building  is  as  secure  as  the  great 
pyramids. 

True  friendship  is  a  Gordian  Knot 
Which  Angel  hands  have  tied, 
By  heavenly  skill  its  texture  wrought — 
Who  shall  its  folds  divide? 


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FEB  19193* 


260c*5  4F6 


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404529 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


